‘Imagine this was your daughter’: how grieving mothers campaigned to close sentencing gap | Violence against women and girls
David Lammy had gone silent. Sitting in his ministerial office in the Palace of Westminster, the justice secretary has just been presented with photographs of women murdered by their partners, in their own homes, by their grieving mothers.
As she laid out the photos in front of her, Carole Gould revealed her 17-year-old daughter Ellie was murdered by her sixth ex-friend Thomas Griffiths the day after they ended their relationship in 2019. Julie Devey, who attended the meeting remotely, showed a photo of her daughter. Poppy Devey Water HouseShe was 24 when she was murdered by her ex-boyfriend Joe Atkinson on December 14, 2018.
In both cases, young women were stabbed multiple times; both murderers tried to hide their crimes. However, because they were attacked in a domestic environment with weapons used from their homes, their murderers faced a maximum prison sentence of 15 years; This is 10 years less than the sentence for being killed on the street or killed with a gun brought to the scene of the murder. Atkinson’s sentence was set at 16 years; Griffiths was sentenced to 12 and a half years in prison. It was as if the mothers were saying their daughters’ lives were worth ten years less.
Frustrated after seven years of campaigning, Gould looked Lammy in the eye and said: “Imagine this is your daughter.” the minister of justice He told that he adopted his daughter He seemed shocked that, in addition to having two sons, it was “the best thing he and his wife have ever done.” The duo also showed photos of women whose murderers were sentenced in 2026. New measures to impose longer sentences For domestic homicides if there are aggravating factors such as domestic violence or overkill. His murderers also received lower sentences. Devey said the measures did not work.
“I said: ‘This has to change. Whatever you’re doing right now isn’t working. What power do you have?'” Devey recalled. They say Lammy insists there is power. Gould then intervened: “Well, if you have the power, David, why don’t you increase the sentence to 25 years?”
There was another moment of silence before he answered: “Okay, I’ll do it.” The women looked at each other. No one spoke for a few minutes. “Did we hear that right?” We were a little confused, thinking. said Gould. “Then we burst into tears.”
On Tuesday, Devey and Gould watched from the public gallery along with Elaine Newborough, the mother of 23-year-old Megan Newborough, who was killed by her boyfriend Ross McCullam in 2021. Lammy, who was “deeply moved” by the mothers’ stories and delighted to serve them, according to one source, stood up and said murderers who kill current or former partners in England and Wales will now face the prospect of an extra 10 years behind bars. Mothers held each other with tissues in their hands as their families let out a brief, comforting cheer.
“It’s very emotional,” said Newborough, who attended the meeting two months ago that paved the way for this moment. “It’s great, but it’s a shame it’s been so difficult. It’s a little overwhelming to be here on this important occasion. I’m sure our girls will be proud of us.”
It’s been a long road to this point. Devey, who was campaigning with her family, reached out to Gould after hearing him talk about her daughter on television, and the pair began working together just before the Covid outbreak emerged. Two years later, in a London cafe, they took turns telling the Guardian about their lost loved ones and why they had joined forces. Murdered Women – a campaign organization run by the families of women killed by men.
Under former chief executive Anna Ryder, who was brought in to the government earlier this year as an adviser on violence against women and girls, they launched the “You were told” campaign in 2023, highlighting the failings in a system that ignores warning signs. In 2024, the Falling Women campaign pressed police to examine whether domestic violence was a factor in cases where women died after falling from heights.
That same year, they worked together on the Guardian’s Murdered Women Count campaign; this campaign reported all known deaths of every woman allegedly murdered by a man throughout 2024, thanks to Counting Dead Women and Counting Dead Women records. Femicide Census. And Invisible Women in 2025 highlighted systemic failures that leave people of color, minorities, and victims of immigrant abuse particularly vulnerable.
Jess Phillips, who has supported the group since its inception, was on hand to welcome the shepherd families to the House of Commons on Tuesday. Devey approached the MP for Birmingham Yardley, who has been reading in parliament the names of women murdered by men in England for the last 11 years, at a book signing ceremony. “I told him he was reading my daughter’s name,” she said. “And she stood up and gave me the biggest hug.”
Phillips, who resigned as protection secretary in May, said the women who lobbied Keir Starmer while he was still opposition leader were correcting the “fundamental injustice” in the criminal justice system. “It’s been a really long journey and I’m so glad to see it come to fruition.”
Campaigners said the new measure, which is subject to consultation with the sentencing council, is not perfect. Dame Nicole Jacobs, the domestic violence commissioner, said she was disappointed that the sentencing increase would not apply in cases of so-called “honor”-based abuse and the killing of a victim by a family member, including sons who killed their mother.
“We will continue,” Devey said. “We won’t stop now.” Gould is also focused on pushing new guidelines when her daughter’s killer faces the Parole Board. “This is an admission that he’s just as dangerous as someone who’s been in there for 25 years,” he said.
But they will allow themselves a moment of satisfaction. Gould recalls that after her daughter’s killer was sentenced, the family’s lawyer told her the law was “cold” and there was nothing they could do about sentencing guidelines. “From that moment on, I always thought: ‘One day I’ll show you that this is wrong,’” he said. “And today we have it.”
