The Attorney General for England and Wales, Richard Hermer, has declined to review the prison sentence of Axel Rudakubana, the 18-year-old responsible for the deaths of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event in Southport, England, last summer. Rudakubana, who admitted to killing the girls and injuring 10 others, was sentenced to a minimum of 52 years in prison.
The incident, which took place in July, shocked the nation, and Rudakubana’s violent actions led to widespread unrest and rioting across the UK. Judge Julian Goose, who imposed the sentence, noted that while a full life sentence could not be handed down because Rudakubana was 17 at the time of the attack, the teenager was unlikely to ever be released from prison.
Following the sentencing, Hermer’s office received multiple requests to review the case under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme. This scheme is designed to identify potential sentencing errors made by judges. However, after careful deliberation and consultation with criminal barristers and the Crown Prosecution Service, Hermer concluded that the case did not meet the necessary criteria for referral to the Court of Appeal.
Hermer clarified that Rudakubana’s sentence was one of the longest ever imposed in English legal history, and the teenager is expected to serve the majority, if not all, of his prison term. He also emphasized the importance of not subjecting the families of the victims to an additional, unnecessary legal process, especially when there was no realistic chance of increasing the sentence.
Rudakubana’s actions, which included not only the killings but also possessing and producing terrorist materials, were deeply troubling and led to an outpouring of grief and anger across the UK. Despite public calls for a harsher sentence, Hermer’s decision reaffirms the finality of the original judgment.
While the case will not be appealed, it remains a devastating reminder of the horrors caused by Rudakubana’s attack, and the families affected continue to seek justice and closure.
