Smith was acquitted of killing escort Sarah Crump in 1993 but was retried and convicted after double jeopardy rules were scrapped and compelling new evidence emerged. He was jailed for a minimum of 27 years for Ms Crump's murder,
He was retried after the centuries-old double jeopardy rule - which meant a defendant, once acquitted, could not be tried for the same crime - was scrapped.The law change in 2005 has allowed prosecutors and police to bring offenders to justice if there is new and compelling evidence against them.
On Friday, he was sentenced to life with a minimum 27 years behind bars - less the 479 days he spent on remand in the 1990s - meaning he will serve at least 25 years and 251 days in prison. He regularly played card games with Harold Shipman while serving time at HMP Wakefield, the 2005 inquest of the serial killer GP heard.Passing sentence for Ms Crump's murder on Friday, the judge, Mr Justice Bryan, said the"abhorrent murder" was both"sexual and sadistic in nature".
Smith, branded a"habitual and dishonest liar", had a"history of escalating sexual violence against women" since he was a teenager in the 1970s, the judge said.The killing of Ms Crump was part of a"pattern of violence and sexual offending against, but not limited to, sex workers."
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