Jeremy Wright
The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), has not received any recent representations on legislation relating to killing by one punch. Such offending behaviour is covered by the existing offence of manslaughter and we have no plans to change the law in this area.
Manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, which gives the courts full flexibility to deal with all the circumstances of the cases which come before them. This is particularly important as manslaughter covers a broad range of behaviour. The Court of Appeal issued a guideline judgment in 2009 on sentencing for unlawful act manslaughter in which it stated that attention should be paid to the problem of gratuitous, unprovoked violence in our city centres and streets.
The correct response should have been:
Jeremy Wright
The Ministry of Justice has received four letters in the last two years on legislation regarding killing by one punch. Such offending behaviour is covered by the existing offence of manslaughter and we have no plans to change the law in this area.
Manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, which gives the courts full flexibility to deal with all the circumstances of the cases which come before them. This is particularly important as manslaughter covers a broad range of behaviour. The Court of Appeal issued a guideline judgment in 2009 on sentencing for unlawful act manslaughter in which it stated that attention should be paid to the problem of gratuitous, unprovoked violence in our city centres and streets.