Killers in England and Wales who kill their ex-partners or use strangulation will face longer jail terms, ministers said.
Under new laws announced Friday, judges will have to consider tougher prison terms for killers who strangle their victims or whose act is linked to the end of a relationship.
The changes, which are expected to come into force next year depending on parliamentary time, will fulfill two outstanding recommendations from Independent review of Claire Wade KC domestic murder conviction.
Each year, around 85 people – predominantly women – are killed by a current or former partner, and most of the time these crimes are committed in the home.
Wade’s analysis of homicide cases found that 30% involved strangulation and 40% occurred at the end or perceived end of a relationship. In both scenarios, all the victims are women and all the killers are men.
Violence against women and girls minister Alex Davies-Jones said: “The level of violence against women is a national crisis that this Government is determined to tackle, and that includes ensuring that the punishment fits the crime for the most heinous crimes.
“I want to pay tribute to all those who have fought for change in this area, including the Joanna Simpson Foundation, Murdered Women and the families of the victims of the Nottingham attacks.”
The government announced at the same time that it had asked the Law Commission to carry out a review of the murder sentencing framework and the law on murder in recognition of wider concerns about inconsistencies.
The review will address issues raised by campaigners, such as how diminished responsibility is considered, which was controversial in the sentencing of Waldo Calocane for the murder of three people in Nottingham in 2023 and whether the sentencing framework adequately reflects the seriousness of the murders committed in the home.
Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood said: “I fully recognize the concerns raised about the law on murder and sentencing, but these are incredibly complex issues and previous tinkering is what has led to the current inconsistencies, so it is right that the Law Commission takes a comprehensive look at it .
The government said the discrepancies were created as a result of partial changes introduced after the introduction of the murder sentencing framework in 2003.
He cited as an example the 25-year starting point for murders where a knife was brought to the crime scene with intent, compared to the 15-year starting point that usually applies if a knife already at the crime scene is used. This has resulted in murders committed in the home with a gun often receiving a lower sentence than those committed with a gun in public.
Diana Parks and Hattie Barkworth-Nanton, co-founders of the Joanna Simpson Foundation, which campaigned for an overhaul of murder laws after the trial of The Simpsons Killer, Robert Brownsaid they accept the need for reform. “However, these proposals set out today by the Secretary of State for Justice fail to go far enough. The Law Commission report on which this review is based is narrowly focused and looks only at legal structures, not sentences and procedures.
The new measures are part of the government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls.
Former Conservative Lord Chancellor David Gauke carries out a separate review of the sentence amid enormous pressure on prison capacity. He pointed out that this could lead to reduced sentences for some serious crimes, which he told the Telegraph was a secondary effect of the increase in the minimum term for murder.
