Families Fighting for Justice calls for longer murder sentences
Ross Watson
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Around 1,000 young people joined the families of murdered loved ones in a march through central London on Monday, organised by campaign group Families Fighting for Justice.
More than 2,000 people attended the march in total. The group was calling upon the government to raise the minimum sentence for murder to 30 years.
Family members of 15-year-old Sofyen Belamouadden, who was stabbed to death at London's Victoria Station in March, were present along with a number of his friends.
"We are leaving anger among our young generation every time they lose a friend to senseless killings," said Jean Taylor, founder of FFJ. "Should Sofyen's friends have to stand in the middle of London talking about this? No, they should be going out having fun."
Taylor's group was protesting against current sentencing guidelines — which mean murderers can face fewer than 15 years in jail.
