Foreign
A former London police officer is in prison for life after he was found guilty of a shocking murder.
A murderer that raised questions about women’s safety in British society lost an appeal to shorten his sentence on Friday.
Wayne Couzens is still set to die in prison in 2021 for the murder and rape of Sarah Everard, an appeals court ruled.
Lord Chief Justice Ian Burnett and four other judges refused to lower Couzens’ sentence.
Couzens was the first person in Britain to get life for a single murder not committed during a terrorist attack.
Appealing against the whole-life term, Couzens’s lawyers argued he deserved decades in jail but said a whole-life term was excessive.
However, in a summary read out in court, Burnett said that the sentencing judge was entitled to impose a whole life order due to the facts of Couzens’ case.
Everard’s murder prompted outrage across the country, especially after it came out that she was murdered by a police officer.
The case highlighted the fact that women in Britain were often unsafe simply by virtue of stepping outside their front door. (dpa/NAN)
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Tags: Chief Justice Ian Burnett Sarah Everard Wayne Couzens
