This Government have set out our ambition to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. Today, I am announcing that the Law Commission has accepted my request to undertake a review of the law of homicide and the sentencing framework for murder. In addition, I intend to bring forward legislation to implement two outstanding recommendations in the independent domestic homicide sentencing review undertaken by Clare Wade KC, which was published last year.
Law Commission review
The law of homicide was last subject to a thorough review by the Law Commission in the early 2000s. At that time the Government decided not to implement the majority of the recommended changes. In the almost 20 years since then, the problems identified in that review have remained largely unchanged, and, as society and the law has moved on, new issues have emerged. These include the interactions between the law on homicide and joint enterprise and the extent to which the law reflects a modern understanding of the effects of domestic abuse. Following the Nottingham attacks last year, the families of the victims have also called for homicide law reform, particularly with regard to how diminished responsibility should be reflected in the classification of homicide offences.
Our current sentencing framework for murder was first introduced over 20 years ago, and multiple, piecemeal amendments have been made to it since then. Recent concerns particularly relate to gendered disparities for murders committed in a domestic context. These concerns include the inadequate reflection of prior abuse in minimum terms for abusive men who kill their female victims, and disproportionately long tariffs for women who kill their male abusers.
I have asked the Law Commission to undertake a project to consider these issues, revisiting and building upon their report in the early 2000s. The Law Commission will review the law relating to homicide offences, including full and partial defences to those offences, and this time also the sentencing framework for murder.
The Law Commission has already started work on a project reviewing the defences to homicide for victims of domestic abuse who kill their abuser. That project will continue under the umbrella of this full review of homicide law, allowing the Law Commission to consider the issue holistically, moving beyond defences to consider the homicide offences themselves and sentencing for this group of defendants.
The Law Commission expects to begin work on this review in early 2025, at which point they will publish a detailed timeline for the project. The terms of reference and more information on the review can be found on the Law Commission’s website.
The separate, independent sentencing review, chaired by the right hon. David Gauke, is due to submit its findings to me by spring 2025. The Law Commission review will take account of any relevant recommendations made in the sentencing review.
Domestic homicide sentencing review recommendations
We anticipate that the Law Commission review will take several years to complete, and the Government will then need to consider the recommendations and bring forward any necessary legislation. This is the right course of action for such a complex area of law, but it is not a quick one.
I therefore intend to take more immediate action in the short-term by implementing two of the outstanding recommendations made in the domestic homicide sentencing review undertaken by Clare Wade KC. In opposition we welcomed this review and its approach of updating the sentencing framework for murder to reflect the seriousness of domestic homicides, while recognising that care must be taken to ensure that any reforms do not unduly punish cases that involve abused women killing their abuser. We did however call for more to be done, including implementation of more of the recommendations as well as wholesale reform of the sentencing framework for murder.
Therefore, alongside the Law Commission review, I intend to bring forward legislation to implement two of the outstanding recommendations from the domestic homicide sentencing review. These measures are statutory aggravating factors for murders involving strangulation and those connected with the end of a relationship.
In recent years strangulation has been recognised as a method of exerting power and control, particularly in the context of domestic abuse where female victims are assaulted by physically stronger males. Nearly a third of the murder cases analysed by Clare Wade KC as part of her review involved strangulation, all of which involved a male perpetrator and female victim. In over a third of cases, the murder occurred at the end, or perceived end, of the relationship, and in the majority of cases this appeared to be the catalyst for the killing. In all of these cases the perpetrator was male. A murder involving resentment or jealousy by the perpetrator at the end of a relationship is a significant feature of cases involving controlling or coercive behaviour—the final controlling act of an abusive partner.
While it is for the judge to determine the appropriate weight to be given to the aggravating factors in each case, we expect that these measures, along with the recommendations implemented by the previous Government, will have a significant impact on the custodial terms given to the perpetrators in these cases. I intend to lay a statutory instrument to implement these measures, and subject to consultation with the Sentencing Council and parliamentary timings, I anticipate that the legislation will come into force next year. These changes will extend and apply to England and Wales.
I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the families and organisations who have campaigned for change in relation to the issues that the Law Commission review will consider. These include the Joanna Simpson Foundation, Killed Women, and the families of the victims of the Nottingham attacks.
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