Exclusive: Teenage murderers face longer jail terms under ‘Ellie’s law’

Justice Secretary is likely to propose increasing the starting point for determining sentences for 15 to 17-year-olds who commit murder

Ellie Gould
Ellie Gould, whose family have pushed for tougher sentences for older adolescents after she was murdered in 2019 Credit: South West News Service

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 Telegraph can reveal.

Robert Buckland is likely to propose increasing the starting point for determining sentences for 15-17 year olds who commit murder from a minimum of 12 years under plans expected to be unveiled next month.

The new 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 to murder 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 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 murder victims have expressed their anger at the sentences handed down in British courts.

Thomas Griffiths
Thomas Griffiths, 18, who murdered Ellie Credit: Wiltshire Police/PA

They include the family of Ellie, 17, whose ex-boyfriend Thomas Griffiths was jailed for 12-and-half years in November last year after he admitted to stabbing her to death in a frenzied knife attack.

His case was referred to the Attorney General’s office under the unduly lenient scheme.

However, it was ruled that the case could not be referred to the Court of Appeal due to the current sentencing guidelines, with Ms Gould’s family stating that they had been left “bitterly disappointed.”

Speaking at the time, Ellie’s mother, Carole Gould, said the legal process was a "crazy system" where under-18-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, Wiltshire, 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 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 to be published towards the end of September.

The murder that inspired Buckland to act

The murder of Ellie Gould, a 17-year-old teenager from Calne, Wiltshire, is believed to be weighing on the Justice Secretary’s mind as he considers changes to the youth offenders sentencing regime.

Her murder in May last year, at the hands of ex-boyfriend, Thomas Griffiths, sent shockwaves through the local community, which neighbours Mr Buckland’s constituency of South Swindon.

During his trial, the court heard how Griffiths, 17 at the time of the murder, had strangled Ellie at her home before repeatedly stabbing her in the neck at least 13 times.

He attempted to clean up the crime scene and returned home, telling a neighbour that scratches to his neck, sustained during a struggle, were the result of self-harm.  

Ellie Gould
Credit: Wiltshire Police/PA

Ellie was found by her father, Matthew, who returned home to find his daughter lying motionless on the floor. Griffiths was arrested outside a friend’s home that evening.

In November 2019, Griffiths pleaded guilty to murder and was jailed for a minimum of 12 and a half years at Bristol Crown Court.

During sentencing the judge told Griffiths: “The effects of your actions have not only snuffed out the life of this talented girl... but loaded pain on her friends and family."

However, Ellie’s family said they had been left “devastated” by the sentence, with Carole, her mother, stating that they had been “completely let down by the British justice system.

Mrs Gould said: "It just doesn't seem right that a young girl can be sitting at home revising for her A-levels and somebody can come in and brutally murder her - and the perpetrator's punishment is 12 and a half years. How is that ever, ever justice?"

The case was referred to Geoffrey Cox, the then Attorney General, under the unduly lenient sentencing scheme. The family said they wanted Griffiths to serve at least 17 years in prison - one for each year of her life.

The family also met Mr Buckland and local MP James Gray as they attempted to build support to have the sentence overturned.

However, the following month the Attorney General ruled he could not refer the case to the Court of Appeal, in a move that was described as “bitterly disappointing” by the family.

A spokesman said at the time a referral could only be made if a sentence "is not just lenient but unduly so, such that the sentencing judge made a gross error or imposed a sentence outside the range of sentences reasonably available in the circumstances of the offence".

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