Tougher Sentences

CARL SARGEANT AM Welcomes Tougher Knife crime Sentences and Calls for Tough Custodial Sentences for Carrying a Knife in Public.

The 15-year minimum prison sentence for knife murders has been reviewed following the Ben Kinsella case, the justice ¬secretary, Jack Straw has announced.
Carl Sargeant Assembly Member for Alyn & Deeside has welcomed the announcement that the minimum prison sentence for anyone using a knife to kill is to rise from 15 years to 25; the decision follows a campaign by the relatives of knife crime victims, including the parents of 16-year-old Ben Kinsella, who called for stronger penalties for knife crime.Ben Kinsella's parents highlighted the disparity between sentencing for murders involving guns and knives after his killers' Old Bailey trial in June. Ben was stabbed 11 times as he fled a fight in Islington, north London, in June last year.Carl Sargeant AM said“I welcome this decision by the Justice Secretary. Knife crime is a threat to our society that should warrant tougher sentencing by the Courts, I would also call for the introduction of tough custodial sentences to stop people actually carrying a knife onto our streets. There should be no reason for anyone to carry a knife on their person when in public.”