The UK government has decided against reviewing the sentence of a British teenager who brutally murdered three young girls at a dance class. Attorney General Richard Hermer announced on Friday that the 52-year minimum term handed to Axel Rudakubana will not be referred to Britain’s Court of Appeal.
Hermer explained the decision, stating that no one would want the families to be put through an unnecessary further court process where there is no realistic legal basis for an increased sentence.
Rudakubana, 18, was sentenced to 13 life terms last month after pleading guilty to the murders of Bebe King (6), Elsie Dot Stancombe (7), and Alice da Silva Aguiar (9), as well as ten attempted murders during his attack in Southport, northwestern England, last July.
The case attracted widespread attention and misinformation, with rumours circulating that Rudakubana was a Muslim asylum seeker, leading to some of the most intense anti-immigration riots in England in years. However, Rudakubana is a UK citizen, born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents.
His brutal attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class shocked the nation, and many have called for his sentence to be increased, deeming it too lenient. In response, Hermer emphasized that the 52-year sentence was the second longest in English history, adding that Rudakubana would likely never be released and would serve the rest of his life in prison.
Due to Rudakubana being 17 at the time of the murders, he was not eligible for a whole-life order, which would have denied him any chance of parole. As a result, the court imposed a minimum sentence instead. Some family members of the victims and Members of Parliament have suggested the law should be changed.
