Joanna Simpson was killed by her husband, British Airways captain Robert Brown (Image: PA)
Jealous men who murder their ex-partners will be jailed for longer, under new Government plans.
Judges are being told to consider tougher sentences for thugs who fatally strangle women or kill at the end of a relationship.
The changes to sentencing considerations, expected to come into force next year, will ensure the punishment fits the crime in the “most abhorrent” cases, a minister said.
The Ministry of Justice said 85 people, mainly women, are killed by their current or ex-partner each year, mostly in the home.
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Shabana Mahmood (Image: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publis)
Barrister Clare Wade’s review of murder cases found 30% involved strangulation and 40% happened at the end, or perceived end, of a relationship – all involving female victims and male killers.
Minister for Violence Against Women and Girls, Alex Davies-Jones said: “The level of violence against women is a national crisis which this Government is determined to tackle, and that includes ensuring the punishment fits the crime for the most abhorrent crimes.
“I want to pay tribute to all those who campaigned for change in this area, including the Joanna Simpson Foundation, Killed Women, and the families of the victims of the Nottingham attacks.”
Minister for Sentencing, Sir Nic Dakin MP, added: “As a society, we now have a greater understanding of domestic abuse, so it is timely to conduct a comprehensive review of homicide law and sentencing to ensure it has kept pace.
“Campaigners have rightly brought many complex issues to the fore and the experts in the Law Commission will advise Parliament on the best reforms to deal with them.”
But campaigners warned the reforms do not “go far enough”.
The founders of the Joanna Simpson Foundation – set up in the name of a woman bludgeoned to death in 2010 by her husband, British Airways captain Robert Brown, said the Government’s proposals do not go far enough.
Co-founders Diana Parkes and Hetti Barkworth-Nanton said: “We welcome and 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 that this review is based on is narrow focused and only looks at legal structures, not sentencing and procedures.”
They said the Government is “squandering a massive opportunity to bring all of our archaic homicide laws, sentencing and procedures into the 21st century”.
But the families of the three people killed in the Nottingham attacks have welcomed a move to review homicide law and the sentencing framework for murder.
Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and Ian Coates, 65, were stabbed to death by Valdo Calocane in June 2023.
Calocane was handed an indefinite hospital order in January after admitting manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
The Law Commission has been asked to review the overall sentencing framework for murder and the law of homicide.
This comes in response to issues raised by campaigners, including how diminished responsibility is considered and whether current sentencing rules properly reflect the seriousness of domestic murders.
Ian Coates, Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar (Image: PA)
Nottingham triple killer Valdo Calocane (Image: PA)
A report in 2006 called on the government to consider changing homicide, currently categorised by two tiers of murder and manslaughter, into three tiers – first degree murder, second degree murder and manslaughter.
The victims’ families had previously called for a change in homicide law, with Mr Webber’s mother Emma saying “murderers will get away with murder”.
A joint statement from the families welcomed news of the review, adding: “Our laws, practises and processes are failing, they are flawed and archaic.
“Had our laws changed, as was first proposed almost 20 years ago, [the] outcome would have been very different.
“As it stands, we are forced to endure additional trauma in the knowledge that this individual, as well as being in receipt of full benefits, may very well be released back into our community.”
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “We are cracking down on violence against women and creating safer streets.
“I fully recognise the concerns raised around homicide law and sentencing, but these are incredibly complex issues and previous tinkering is what has led to the current disparities, so it is right that the Law Commission takes a comprehensive look at it.”