Umar Azmeh analyses the whole life order imposed upon Wayne Couzens for the murder of Sarah Everard
Introduction
In September 2021, Wayne Couzens was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order in accordance with s321(3) Sentencing Act 2020 for the murder of Sarah Everard.
Schedule 21
In determining what tariff applies to a defendant, judicial discretion in this area is constrained by Sch 21 Sentencing Act 2020, which identifies various starting point tariffs.
Where the court considers that the seriousness of the offence (or the combination of offences) is exceptionally high, and the offender was aged 21 or over when the offence was committed, the starting point is a whole life order (para2(1)). Sch 21 sets out various cases that would normally be categorised as being...
“Where the court considers that the seriousness of the offence (or the combination of offences) is exceptionally high … the starting point is a whole life order.”
