Teenage killers face longer jail terms under Ellie’s Law
TEENAGE killers aged 15 or over will be handed longer jail terms under changes to the sentencing regime for youth offenders being considered by the Justice Secretary, The Sunday Tele
graph can disclose.
Robert Buckland is likely to propose increasing the starting point for determining sentences for 15 to 17-year-olds who commit murder under plans expected to be unveiled next month.
The changes are likely to be referred to as “Ellie’s Law” after teenage victim Ellie Gould, whose family have pushed for tougher sentences for older adolescents after she was murdered in 2019 by her then 17-year-old boyfriend.
The Ministry of Justice is also due to put forward changes to ensure child murderers face life imprisonment without parole, as set out in the Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto.
At present the starting point for murderers aged under 18 who are convicted or who plead guilty is 12 years, as opposed to 15 years for adults.
However, ministers are looking to introduce a “more graded approach”, which would see the starting point for murder sentences for over-15s moved closer to the adult sentencing regime.
Starting points are guides used by judges to consider the appropriate sentence for criminals, which can be raised or lowered depending on mitigating or aggravating factors, including their age.
According to a Whitehall insider aware of the discussions, Mr Buckland is reportedly concerned that “highly mature” killers can be treated the same as younger offenders.
“What they are looking at is young offenders who commit murder and whether there is anything more that can be done to take a more graded approach as they get older,” they added.
“If you committed murder as a youth then you are sentenced under youth principles, meaning the starting point is lower than someone over 18. The question is whether that should
be higher the closer you get to 18. You might have somebody who is highly mature for their age, and yet they are being treated as if they were a 13 or 14-year-old.
“Rather than ending the distinction between young offenders and adults, it’s about looking at that age group between 15 and 17, whether there is a slightly higher starting point that judges could then apply and use their discretion.”
While the number of cases involving teenage murderers is small, in recent years a number of families of victims have expressed their anger at the sentences handed down in British courts.
They include the family of Ellie, 17, whose former boyfriend Thomas Griffiths was jailed for 12 and half years in November last year after he admitted stabbing her to death.
His case was referred to the Attorney General’s office under the unduly lenient scheme. However, it was ruled that
‘There’s a huge difference between a 10-year-old and an 18-year-old. And really the laws need to be changed’
the case could not be referred to the Court of Appeal due to the current sentencing guidelines, with Ellie’s family stating that they had been left “bitterly disappointed”.
Speaking at the time, Carole Gould, Ellie’s mother, said the legal process was a “crazy system” where under18-year-olds “have the same starting point” as younger children, adding: “There’s a huge difference between a 10-year-old and an 18-year-old. And really, the laws need to be changed.”
Ellie was from Calne, Wilts, which neighbours Mr Buckland’s constituency of South Swindon, although an MoJ source said his thinking had not been influenced by any individual case.
Concerns over lesser sentences for younger murderers were also raised this week when Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, escaped being sent to jail for the rest of his life because he was aged 20, rather than 21, at the time of the attack. The current law prevents criminals aged under 21 from being handed a whole life term without parole.
Mr Buckland is understood to be looking at the issue, although he declined to comment when approached last night. The proposals are expected to be included in a sentencing white paper, which is to be published towards the end of September.