The government has agreed to tougher sentences for murderers who have a history of coercive or controlling behaviour against their partners.
The Ministry of Justice said excessive or gratuitous violence, sometimes dubbed “overkill,” would also be made an aggravating factor for judges when sentencing in murder cases.
The changes were among a number of recommendations made in a report by Clare Wade, KC, in her Domestic Homicide Sentencing Review, which was commissioned by the government in 2021.
Domestic homicide is defined as a death owing to violence, abuse, or neglect by a partner, former partner, relative, or member of the same household….