A mother's tireless campaigning for justice in the face of unimaginable tragedy has been vindicated with a government proposal to impose harsher sentences on those convicted of domestic murder. Carole Gould OBE, whose 17-year-old daughter Ellie was brutally murdered by her ex-boyfriend in their home, says the plan is a 'huge step forward' in addressing a glaring disparity in sentencing.
Under current laws, murderers who kill with intent using a weapon face a minimum starting point of 25 years. However, those who commit domestic murders with a readily available knife or other object present are sentenced at a lower threshold of 15 years – a difference that the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) aims to bridge by introducing an additional decade-long prison term for such crimes.
The proposal stems from Ms Gould's relentless advocacy following her daughter's murder in May 2019, when Thomas Griffiths received a life sentence with a minimum term of 12-and-a-half years. As the driving force behind 'Ellie's Law', which came into effect in 2021 to increase sentences for teenage killers, Ms Gould has been a beacon of hope for those seeking tougher laws.
The Ministry of Justice's initiative is part of a broader effort to halve violence against women and girls, with domestic incidents accounting for over one-fifth of all murders and disproportionately affecting women. Carole Gould, co-founder of the charity Killed Women, believes the proposed change respects 'women's lives' by eliminating what she terms an 'unjust and immoral' disparity in sentencing.
Ms Gould is adamant that her daughter would have been protected from such a heinous crime had this legislation been in place. She believes Griffiths could have faced significantly longer time behind bars, potentially more than doubling his original sentence. Acknowledging the dangers posed by perpetrators of domestic violence, Ms Gould emphasizes the importance of keeping 'these dangerous men off our streets for longer'. While subject to further consultation with the Sentencing Council, the MoJ has expressed its intention to introduce the law change 'as soon as possible'.