Why wasn’t Southport killer Axel Rudakubana given a whole-life order?
Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana has been jailed for at least 52 years after killing three teenage girls in a frenzied knife attack.
Rudakubana, 18, stabbed and killed girls aged between 6 and 9 with a 20 cm long kitchen knife when he ambushed a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, Merseyside, in July 2024.
The Southport Inquiry published its findings on Monday after hearing evidence of an attack of “unprecedented cruelty”, with chairman Sir Adrian Fulford concluding that “this appalling incident could and should have been prevented”.
Dressed in a green hoodie, a surgical face mask and armed with a knife, the 17-year-old traveled five miles from his family’s home to the studio where he launched his deadly attack.
Sir Keir Starmer previously said the attack would be a “line in the sand” for Britain after the killer admitted 16 offences.
However, despite his long prison sentence, Rudakubana was not given a life sentence. Independent It takes a look at what’s down there and why the killer is avoiding it all.
What is the whole order of life?
An offender can be sentenced to life imprisonment – or the “whole life tariff” for the most serious cases of murder; This means that his crime was so serious that he will never be released from prison.
According to the Ministry of Justice, there were 65 prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment in the UK as of 30 June 2023.
Murderers Rosemary West, Levi Bellfield, Michael Adebolajo, Wayne Couzens and Lucy Letby were among those given such sentences.
How is it different from a life sentence?
Any criminal found guilty of murder should be sentenced to life imprisonment. However, the judge must decide whether to set the minimum term that must be served in full before release or to impose a life sentence.
A murderer will be sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term for the rest of his life, but it is not necessary to serve the entire term in prison.
They are usually released on license subject to certain conditions after spending a period of time in prison. For example, the minimum sentence for murder with a knife is 25 years, in which case the perpetrator will be released on condition of judicial control. If they breach the conditions of this license at any point they could be sent back to prison.
Why did Rudakubana avoid order throughout his life?
A judge cannot impose a life sentence on a person who was under 18 at the time of the crime, regardless of the seriousness of the crime.
Although Rudakubana was 18 at the time of his conviction, he was 17 when he killed Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9.
