A poll by the Leicester Mercury has shown that the majority of its readers believe life should mean life.

The poll was part of the newspaper’s Great Crime Debate, which has been running for the past six weeks, and asked: Do you think life should mean life for convicted murderers?

More than 1,800 readers took part in the poll during its four day run, and the results showed 1,473 voters, 90 per cent, said life should mean life, while six per cent said no and four per cent were not sure.

The poll also asked: Do you think criminals convicted of serious sexual or violent crimes should be made to serve their full sentence?

Almost 97 per cent of readers who took part said they thought people guilty of violent and sexual crimes should serve their full sentences.

The debate was launched after Home Secretary David Blunkett said sweeping changes were needed in the justice system.

The thousands of voting slips sent to the Mercury will now be forwarded to the Home Office, which has promised to look closely at the response as it helps draft the new laws.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “We have been following the progress of the Leicester Mercury’s campaign. The paper has had a fantastic response.”

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