Domestic murder minimum sentence raised to 25 years in England and Wales
Justice Secretary David Lammy has announced a new 25-year minimum sentence for killing a partner, up from 15 years. The change follows a seven-year campaign by mothers of murder victims.
Domestic murder minimum sentence raised to 25 years after victims' mothers' campaign
Offenders who kill a current or former partner in England and Wales will face a minimum 25-year prison sentence, up from 15 years, under plans announced by Justice Secretary David Lammy on Monday, The Guardian UK reports.
The existing 15-year starting point applied to most domestic murders because they typically occurred in the home using a weapon already present at the scene — such as a kitchen knife — rather than one brought with intent. Where a weapon is taken to the scene, the starting point for murder is already 25 years. The new measure closes that gap.
The announcement follows a seven-year campaign by the mothers of three murdered women: Carole Gould, Julie Devey and Elaine Newborough.
Ellie Gould, 17, was murdered by her ex-boyfriend Thomas Griffiths on 3 May 2019. Poppy Devey-Waterhouse, 24, a quantitative trading analyst, was murdered by her ex-boyfriend Joe Atkinson on 14 December 2018. Megan Newborough was murdered by her boyfriend Ross McCullam on 6 August 2021.
Lammy, who also serves as deputy prime minister, said: "For centuries, the law failed to protect women from violence at the hands of their partner — whether from marital rape or from abuse behind closed doors. Whilst we've made significant progress, we need to continue righting these wrongs."
He added: "This change closes a long overdue gap and will ensure those who murder their partner face sentences that better reflect the devastating harm they cause. I pay tribute to Carole Gould, Julie Devey and Elaine Newborough whose courageous campaign will help future mothers, daughters and wives get the justice they deserve."
In a statement issued by the charity Killed Women on behalf of the three women's mothers, they welcomed the announcement, saying: "At last, women's lives are being valued as highly as men's. Since around 70% of victims of homicide in the home are women, it has long been unjust that those who murder them routinely receive substantially lighter sentences simply because the murder weapon, such as a kitchen knife, was already there, rather than brought to the scene."
The mothers' statement continued: "What drove us was knowing, categorically, that the current sentencing guidelines are wrong. Our daughters' lives were taken in brutal ways as other women are killed every week inside their home, the place they were entitled to feel safe."
The Guardian UK's killed women count campaign recorded 80 women killed in the UK in 2024, highlighting the extent of femicide. More than a fifth of all murders are domestic, with women comprising the overwhelming majority of victims.
The sentencing change is subject to consultation with the sentencing council and forms part of the government's stated commitment to halve violence against women and girls.
Domestic abuse charity Refuge and domestic abuse commissioner Dame Nicole Jacobs both welcomed the increased sentence. However, Refuge called on the government to review partial defences that allow perpetrators to obtain a lesser conviction of manslaughter rather than murder. Jacobs expressed disappointment that the new minimum would not apply to victims killed by a family member. "It's no less heinous a crime when a parent is killed by their child or someone is a victim of so-called 'honour'-based abuse by a relative," she said.
Mark Day, deputy director of the Prison Reform Trust, warned that Lammy's announcement had pre-empted the findings of the Law Commission's detailed review of homicide offences, and said it would add to pressure on a "prison system still struggling to cope with rising prison numbers, fuelled largely by the growth in sentence lengths for some of the most serious offences".
The existing 15-year starting point will continue to apply in cases where a victim of domestic abuse kills their abuser.
Source: The Guardian UK