When criminals are jailed, they are handed a minimum number of years they must spend behind bars at sentencing. Those who have committed the most horrific offences - such as murder and rape - can be sentenced to life imprisonment, but this does not always mean life.
Most of the time, even these criminals will be given a minimum term they must serve before being considered for release by the Parole Board.
Occasionally, judges sentence the most dangerous criminals to 'whole life orders' - meaning they will never be considered for release and will die in prison. READ MORE: Locked up forever: The evil Manchester criminals who got 'whole life orders' Others have been deemed so evil, judges have handed down minimum sentences of up to 55 years.
From the contract killer, to the sexual predator, here are some of the criminals serving Greater Manchester's longest prison sentences. Samson Price Samson Price, a father from Wigan, was sentenced to 33 years imprisonment after a brutal 'eye for eye' attack on a man he believed responsible for the death of his son.
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