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Henry Nowak’s parents condemn killer’s appeal against sentence today and his mother’s early release as ‘an absolute disgrace’
Vickrum Digwa is appealing the minimum 21-year term he received for murdering 18-year-old Henry Nowak, while the Attorney General is asking judges to increase it. Nowak’s family say the appeal prolongs their distress and have condemned the expected early release of Digwa’s mother, who was jailed for helping conceal the murder weapon.
Three senior judges are due to hear both sentence challenges at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Digwa was convicted of stabbing Nowak in Southampton in December last year; his mother, Kiran Kaur, was sentenced to three years for hiding the bloodstained knife but is expected to leave prison next month after serving about a year under the early release scheme. The family say the timing, near the first anniversary of Nowak’s death, is particularly painful and have urged the Government to reconsider the scheme.
In short
- Digwa is challenging his minimum 21-year sentence.
- The Attorney General says the sentence may be too lenient.
- His mother is expected to be released after about a year.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Digwa can argue that a minimum term should reflect his individual culpability and the circumstances of the offence, and that an appeal is a lawful way to ask senior judges to check whether the sentence is fair and proportionate. Kaur’s release may likewise be defended as the result of a general early release scheme applied to eligible prisoners, intended to manage prison capacity and support rehabilitation rather than to diminish the seriousness of her offence.
The case against
The Attorney General can argue that the minimum term should adequately reflect the gravity of the murder, provide appropriate public protection and maintain confidence in sentencing, while the family may reasonably feel the current term falls short. They can also argue that Kaur’s early release, so close to the anniversary, risks compounding their grief and that the Government should reconsider whether the scheme’s rules are appropriate for offences involving concealment of a murder weapon.
Explained simply
A murder sentence in England and Wales includes a minimum term: the time a person must serve before they can be considered for release on licence. Judges set that term, and both the defendant and the Attorney General can challenge it if they believe it is too long or too short.
The Attorney General is the Government’s senior legal adviser and can ask appeal judges to review a sentence they consider unduly lenient. Separately, prison release rules can allow some prisoners to leave custody before the end of their full sentence, subject to conditions. The two processes affect different people and are being considered separately by senior judges and prison authorities.