Transgender and disabled murders to incur far harsher hate-crime penalty | UK news | The Guardian

Transgender and disabled murders to incur far harsher hate-crime penalty | UK news | The Guardian

"Murderers who kill disabled or transgender people in hate crimes are to face much longer prison sentences under government proposals.

The justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, said the "starting point" for judges sentencing in disability and transgender murder cases was to double from 15 to 30 years.

The move will bring sentencing in these cases in line with murders in which race, religion or sexual orientation is an aggravating factor.

It follows the jailing in September of Leon Fyle, 23, for life for the murder of Destiny Lauren, a transgender woman who worked as a prostitute. Fyle, who was convicted after a retrial, was given a 21-year tariff.

The proposal is part of the government's first strategy to tackle transgender prejudice in England and Wales. The equalities minister, Lynne Featherstone, said the strategy included support for transgender pupils in schools, measures to tackle discrimination in accessing public services and greater steps to protect transgender people's privacy, including not having their transgender identity revealed at work without their consent.

Ministers are to introduce amendments to the legal aid, sentencing and punishment bill now going through parliament to double the starting point in murder cases. It will also allow judges to pass tougher sentences for any crime in which hostility towards transgender or disabled people is an aggravating factor.

Clarke said that hate crime left sections of society living in fear and at risk of unprovoked violence. "The courts already treat hate crime seriously and aggravate sentences accordingly," he said. "These proposals make clear offenders should be in no doubt that they face a more severe sentence for these unacceptable crimes."

The "starting points" for sentencing killers are laid down in the 2003 Criminal Justice Act, which provides judges with guidance on determining the minimum term under a life sentence for murder. Any aggravating or mitigating factors present in the case are then taken into account by the judge before reaching the final minimum term or tariff."