Nowak killer's bid to reduce sentence heard by appeal court

Summarised from 6 outlets · 8 reports · Updated 5 Nov, 14:37 · Archive

Vickrum Digwa is appealing against his life sentence for murdering 18-year-old Henry Nowak, while the Attorney General seeks to have it increased.

Vickrum Digwa, 23, stabbed Henry Nowak, 18, in Southampton on 3 December last year with a ceremonial knife with an eight-inch blade. After the attack, Digwa falsely told police that Nowak had racially abused him and knocked his turban off. Officers handcuffed the dying Nowak before discovering his fatal injuries. Police body-worn video footage of the incident was released publicly, prompting protests and unrest in Southampton. Digwa was found guilty of murder and sentenced in June to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years.

Digwa is appealing against the length of his sentence, arguing it is 'manifestly excessive'. However, Attorney General Ellie Reeves has also referred the sentence to the Court of Appeal as 'unduly lenient'. Three senior judges, including Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, heard both challenges on 5 November.

In written submissions on behalf of the Attorney General, Jonathan Polnay KC argued that Digwa had 'abused the privilege' afforded to Sikhs to carry a knife in public for religious reasons. Polnay said: 'The offender was carrying a substantial bladed weapon in public, immediately available for use, which he repeatedly deployed against an unarmed and defenceless stranger.'

Digwa also filmed Nowak as he lay dying. The court was told that the killer's actions failed to account for 'significant aggravating factors', including his false allegation of racism against his victim.

Nowak's family expressed anger at the appeals process. His stepmother Katie said in an interview with ITV that allowing Digwa to challenge his sentence 'just doesn't feel fair to us at all', describing it as 'another process that we've got to go through' and 'another fight that we have to have'. His father Mark condemned the early release decision for Digwa's mother, Kiran Kaur, who hid the murder weapon and was sentenced to three years in prison in July for assisting an offender. Kaur is set to be released around December, having served less than half her sentence.

Digwa is separately seeking to overturn his conviction, but a decision has yet to be made on whether that challenge can proceed.

How it is being reported

• Henry Nowak's killer has life sentence increasedHenry Nowak's killer has had his life sentence increased on the day his bid to reduce it failed.Sky News · 5 Nov, 15:29
• Henry Nowak’s parents slam killer’s appeal against sentence and call his mother’s early release ‘an absolute disgrace’The family of Henry Nowak has slammed his killer's bid to appeal his sentence and branded the possible early release of his mother "an absolute disgrace". Vickrum Digwa, 23, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years after he had stabbed the student, 18, to death and then lied to the police about being racially abused in December last year. The killer has launched a bid to the Court of Appeals to appeal his sentence, which he argues is too severe for his crime. The Government, meanwhile, has asked for a review as to whether the sentence handed down by the judge was unduly lenient.…GB News · 5 Nov, 14:28
• Henry Nowak’s killer should have had longer sentence, court of appeal hearsVickrum Digwa also challenging the length of his jail term, with his KC describing it as ‘manifestly excessive’ Vickrum Digwa, the killer of Henry Nowak, should have received a longer sentence because of his false accusations of racism against his victim and his abuse of a religious right to carry a knife, the court of appeal has been told. Digwa, 23, was jailed in June for life with a minimum term of 21 years for murdering Nowak, 18, in an attack in Southampton in December last year. Continue reading...Guardian World · 5 Nov, 13:15
• Henry Nowak's killer should have got a longer sentence after 'abusing the privilege' Sikhs have to carry knives in public, court toldMr Nowak, 18, was stabbed multiple times by Vickrum Digwa in Southampton on December 3 last year, who then lied to police that his victim had racially abused him.Daily Mail · 5 Nov, 11:51
• Killer’s sentence for murdering ‘defenceless’ Henry Nowak too short, court toldVickrum Digwa is appealing against his sentence at the Court of Appeal, while the Attorney General is seeking to have it increased.Evening Standard · 5 Nov, 11:29
• Henry Nowak killer’s bid to reduce murder sentence to be heardVickrum Digwa is appealing against the length of his sentence as ‘manifestly excessive’.Evening Standard · 5 Nov, 09:19
• Henry Nowak's family condemn his killer's 'ludicrous' appealHenry's dad Mark Nowak says the decision to allow Vickrum Digwa's mother, who hid the murder weapon, to be released from prison early is an 'absolute disgrace'The Mirror · 5 Nov, 08:31
• Henry Nowak's parents condemn killer's appeal against sentence today and his mother's early release as 'an absolute disgrace'A bid by Henry Nowak's killer to reduce his life sentence for murder is set to be heard at the Royal Courts of Justice in London today, as well as the Attorney General's bid to increase it.Daily Mail · 5 Nov, 07:52

In this story: Vickrum Digwa · Henry Nowak · Ellie Reeves · Katie Nowak · Mark Nowak · Kiran Kaur · Southampton · Court of Appeal

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