Domestic abusers in England and Wales who kill their partners or ex-partners are to face tougher sentences under government plans after a campaign by bereaved families.
The justice secretary and lord chancellor, Dominic Raab, will push for a change in the law after pressure from campaigners such as Julie Devey and Carole Gould, who have been calling since 2020 for a change to the minimum sentence for domestic homicide.
An independent review of domestic homicide sentencing published on Friday found that sentencing does not take into consideration the fact that many domestic murders happen after years of abuse.
Under the plans, the law will be changed so a history of abusive, coercive or controlling behaviour against the victim or use of excessive violence, known as overkill, must be considered as aggravating factors in sentencing decisions for murder. Currently, a killer outside the home will face at least a decade more in prison than a domestic killer.
Gould, whose 17-year-old daughter Ellie was killed by another sixth-former the day after she ended their relationship in 2019, said: “The government is finally recognising that these are heinous crimes committed by dangerous perpetrators. It’s small steps, but we’re now headed in the right direction.”
Gould, who campaigns with Killed Women along with Devey, whose daughter Poppy, 24, was stabbed 49 times in 2018, said they would call for killings where overkill was a feature to have a starting sentence of 25 years.
Raab told the BBC on Friday: “Coercive and controlling behaviour [is present in] half of domestic domestic murders, and predominantly men against women. I think the sentence should reflect … the slow torment that leads up to the murder, and we’ll introduce a statutory aggravating factor as soon as possible that would lift sentences by up to two years or potentially more.”
The justice minister, Edward Argar, paid tribute to Devey and Gould, who he said had “campaigned bravely and tirelessly” after the killing of their daughters.
“No one should ever feel unsafe in their own home, and we will continue working with Julie and Carole and others to make further progress in tackling the dreadful crime of domestic abuse,” he said.
Raab has also asked the Sentencing Council for England and Wales to review manslaughter sentencing guidelines in deaths caused during so-called rough sex, with a view to imposing longer jail terms.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said legislation on the new aggravating factors would be introduced as soon as parliamentary time allowed, and that while sentencing was the responsibility of the independent Sentencing Council, it had a statutory duty to consider any proposals made by the lord chancellor.
