The brutal murder of three young girls at a dance class in Southport last year has led to widespread outrage and calls for legal reforms after the perpetrator, Axel Rudakubana, was handed a 52-year sentence. The ruling, one of the longest minimum terms ever imposed on a killer of his age, has renewed debates about whether harsher punishments should be applied to juvenile offenders in exceptional cases.
The attack, which took place in July last year at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, claimed the lives of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven. Liverpool Crown Court heard harrowing details of the assault, during which Rudakubana also attempted to murder eight other children, a class instructor, and a bystander.
Rudakubana, now 18, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 52 years by Mr Justice Goose. The judge described the punishment as “substantial” and stated that it was likely Rudakubana would remain in custody for the rest of his life. However, due to his age at the time of the crime, he could not legally receive a whole-life order—a sentence reserved for offenders aged 21 and over, or in rare cases, those aged 18 to 20.
Southport MP Patrick Hurley expressed dissatisfaction with the sentence, describing it as “not severe enough” and calling for the Attorney General to review it under the unduly lenient sentence scheme. “We need a sentence that represents the severity of this crime,” he said.
The case has also prompted calls for a review of sentencing laws. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, with support from shadow home secretary Chris Philp, suggested that there is a “strong case” for amending legislation to allow whole-life orders for offenders under 18 in extreme cases. “We will start to explore this issue,” Badenoch said.
Reform UK MPs Rupert Lowe and Lee Anderson went further, advocating for the return of the death penalty, which was abolished in 1969.
A history of disturbing behaviour
The court heard chilling evidence about Rudakubana’s past, including incidents of violent behaviour and fascination with extremist ideologies. He attacked a pupil with a hockey stick, carried knives into school, and used school computers to research terror attacks. He also admitted to producing the biological toxin ricin and possessing information useful for committing acts of terrorism.
Despite this, Mr Justice Goose ruled that Rudakubana’s crimes did not meet the legal definition of terrorism. “His culpability is equivalent in its seriousness to terrorist murders, whatever his purpose,” the judge stated.
Rudakubana was removed from the courtroom after disrupting proceedings and was not present to hear victim impact statements. Families of the victims described him as “cruel and pure evil,” with Elsie’s mother, Jenny, delivering an emotional account of her loss.
More Read
Community and national impact
The attack has had far-reaching repercussions, sparking unrest and violent retaliations against mosques and asylum seeker accommodations across the country. More than 1,000 arrests related to this unrest have been made, with hundreds of offenders charged and jailed.
The government’s anti-terror programme, Prevent, has faced criticism for failing to identify and act on warning signs in Rudakubana’s behaviour. “This was a tragedy that could and should have been prevented,” a parent of one of the surviving children said.
A call for reform
The case has drawn comparisons to other notorious crimes in the UK. In 2020, Manchester Arena bomber Hashem Abedi was sentenced to a record-breaking 55-year minimum term for 22 murders. While Rudakubana’s sentence is among the longest for a juvenile offender, critics argue that it fails to reflect the gravity of his actions.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described Rudakubana’s punishment as appropriate, stating, “This vile offender will likely never be released.” However, the debate about juvenile sentencing laws continues to grow, with many demanding stricter measures for exceptional cases involving young offenders.
As Rudakubana begins his sentence in a high-security adult prison, the families of his victims and the Southport community remain united in their grief—and their calls for justice that truly reflects the horror of his crimes.
