Campaigner Deems Proposed Sentence Increases for Domestic Homicide Insufficient

A campaigner has stated that government proposals to raise sentences for former partners who commit murder or strangulation against their victims are inadequate. This assertion comes from Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, whose friend, Joanna Simpson, was murdered by her husband in 2010. Ms. Barkworth-Nanton acknowledged that the proposed modifications represented the correct “direction of travel” but highlighted their failure to resolve the discrepancy in initial sentencing for homicides occurring within the home versus those committed elsewhere. In response, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) indicated that the Law Commission is currently examining the sentencing framework for murder and the broader law of homicide. The spokesperson commented, “Sentencing for domestic murder is a complex issue which requires wholesale reform rather than piecemeal change,” further describing Ms. Simpson’s killing as “abhorrent.” The minimum initial sentence for murder stands at 15 years’ imprisonment. After the murder of Ben Kinsella in 2010, the government revised the starting point for murders involving a knife or another weapon brought to the scene with intent, increasing it to 25 years. However, the MoJ noted that domestic homicides typically do not meet the criteria for this elevated starting point because weapons used in such incidents are frequently already present at the location. Ms. Barkworth-Nanton expressed her desire for this situation to change, voicing concern that aggravating factors like strangulation or the termination of a relationship in a homicide might not be enough to bridge the existing sentencing disparity. Ms. Simpson, aged 46, was fatally bludgeoned by Robert Brown in Ascot, Berkshire, in October 2010. Brown subsequently interred her body in a pre-prepared grave within Windsor Great Park, confessing to law enforcement the next day. He received a not guilty verdict for murder after the jury heard that the couple’s acrimonious divorce proceedings had caused him significant stress. Ms. Barkworth-Nanton contended that Brown’s actions were “not some spur of the moment thing” simply because he utilized a weapon already present in the residence, advocating for a simplification of the sentencing system. She asserted, “If someone murders their partner or ex-partner… then their starting point should be 25 years,” adding, “We’ve just got to get an even playing field.”