Summary
The Attorney General has announced that Axel Rudakubana’s 52 year sentence will not be referred to the Court of Appeal for review.
Details
On 14 February 2025, the Attorney General released a statement following requests from the public to review Axel Rudakubana’s 52 year sentence under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
18 year-old Rudakubana was sentenced in January for 3 counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and other offences including possession of a knife in a public place, following the July 2024 Southport stabbings.
Rudakubana carried out the attacks 9 days before his 18th birthday and, because of the fact he was not yet an adult, the law meant he could not be sentenced to a whole life order. The sentence imposed by the judge was the second longest sentence imposed by the Courts in English history and Rudakubana will likely spend the rest of his life in jail.
The Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme allows anyone to ask for certain Crown Court sentences to be reviewed by the Attorney General’s Office if they think the sentence is too lenient. If the Attorney General considers that the sentence appears unduly lenient, they can ask the Court of Appeal to review the length of the sentence and, if they decide necessary, increase it.
The Attorney General said that, after careful consideration of independent legal advice and consultation with leading criminal barristers and with the Crown Prosecution Service, he had concluded that this case cannot be properly referred to the Court of Appeal. He added that no-one would want the families to be put through an unnecessary further court process where there is no realistic legal basis for an increased sentence.
The Attorney General’s full statement can be read here.
Commentary
Given the age of the offender in this case, questions have been raised over the way our criminal justice system treats those who commit offences when they are still a child.
YJLC’s ‘Turning 18’ Guide deals with the impact of turning 18 on young people in the criminal justice system where they are dealt with for offences committed as a child, and where they offend during young adulthood (18 to 25).
As explained in the Guide, the law should ensure that there is as much recognition as possible of the young person’s age at the time they offended, and their age and maturity at each significant stage of a case.
The Guide provides practical advice to assist those navigating through the different regimes, rules and principles which apply to children and young people in the criminal justice system.