Among the crimes which led to these 24 defendants serving time at His Majesty’s pleasure are gangland murders; killing three members of the same family and some of the most despicable and systematic child abuse ever committed in Britain.
Two of the defendants pictured here will die behind bars, after being handed whole-life sentences.
The rest have received sentences of between 19 and and 37 years, with those serving the shortest sentences included on the list due to the combined total length with their criminal co-accused.
All 24 are all currently behind bars.
Some of the defendants admitted their crimes, while others were found guilty following a jury trial.
All of the information included here was correct at the time of publication in March 2024.
1. Longest sentences passed down at Sheffeld Crown Court
All of the criminals pictured here were sentenced to decades behind bars during hearings at Sheffield Crown Court, after being convicted of some of the most heinous crimes South Yorkshire has ever seen
2. Anthony Arkwright: Deranged killer is one of 70 people in UK serving whole-life tariff
Deranged Anthony Arkwright hacked three people to death during his rampage in 1988 - and is one of around 70 people in the UK serving a whole life tariff, meaning the evil murderer will never be released and will die in prison. Arkwright disembowelled his victims in one of the most brutal murder sprees Britain has ever seen. When he turned 21, Arkwright moved into Denman Road, Wath, where he frequently rowed with his neighbours Raymond Ford and Marcus Wright. On August 27, 1988, Arkwright told neighbour Neil Hirst he was going to "kill that b*****d" after spotting the latter on his way to a nightclub. He later butchered wheelchair-bound Marcus before slicing open his stomach and shoving a crutch through it. Depraved Arkwright had then stuck cigarettes in his nose, mouth and ears - making him resemble a grotseque "birthday cake". Cops arrested him on suspicion of murder but were unaware he had killed three others in hauntingly similar attacks. Arkwright was charged with four counts of murder and stood trial at Sheffield Crown Court in 1989 where he pleaded not guilty. But he was convicted on three counts of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison. Photo: SYP
3. Gary Allen: Double murderer to spend 37 years behind bars for killing two women 22 years apart
Gary Allen was jailed for life and told he must serve a minimum of 37 behind bars by a judge who described him as ‘wicked’. Allen, who was 47 when he was jailed in June, killed mother-of-three Samantha Class in Hull in 1997, and mother-of-four Alena Grlakova in Rotherham in 2018. He had been cleared of the murder of Ms Class in 2000, but this acquittal was overturned in 2019 after “compelling” new evidence came to light. Sentencing Allen at Sheffield Crown Court, the judge in the case, Mr Justice Goose, said: “It would not be an overstatement to say that what you did to those two women, and the loss and suffering to their families, was wicked.” Jurors heard how the body of 29-year-old Ms Class, who was working in the sex industry, was found by children on the banks of the Humber in October 1997. Ms Grlakova’s body was found naked in a stream in Rotherham in April 2019, four months after she was last seen on Boxing Day 2018. The 38-year-old had been strangled. She was from Slovakia and moved to the UK in 2008 but, after becoming estranged from her husband and children, she started working in the sex industry. The court heard how Allen attacked two sex workers in 2000 in Plymouth, just weeks after he was acquitted of Ms Class’s murder after his initial trial. Photo: SYP
4. Sarah Barrass and Brandon Machin: Murderous couple will each spend 35 years behind bars
The horrific murders of Blake and Tristan Barrass, aged 14 and 13 years respectively, on May 24 2019 shook Sheffield to its core, and will go down in infamy. After admitting to their crimes, Blake and Tristan's parents, Sarah Barrass and Brandon Machin, who are also half-brother and sister, were sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 35 years, during a hearing held at Sheffield Crown Court on November 12, 2019. Photo: 3rd party