Justice for Joseph - Queen's Speech includes life sentences for killer drivers
After years of campaigning the law has now changed in memory of Rochdale's Joseph Brown-Lartey
A campaign in memory of a young Rochdale man who was killed by a dangerous driver has successfully managed to change the law so that stiffer sentences can be handed out by judges.
Joseph Brown-Lartey, 25, died in November 2014 when speeding driver Addil Haroon ran a red light at 80mph in a 30 zone and smashed into his car at a crossroads. The force of the crash split Joseph's car in two and he died instantly at the scene. The night before Haroon, who was 18 and who only had a provisional licence, had bragged on Snapchat of doing 142mph on the M62.
Joseph's parents Ian and Dawn joined forces with Hits Radio reporter Michelle Livesey in calling for a review of the sentencing guidelines after Haroon was given six years for causing death by dangerous driving, for which he served less than three bars.
Together with former MP for Heywood and Middleton Liz McInnes they delivered a petition with tens of thousands of signatures to Downing Street, held debates in the House of Commons, and even, with the help of Road Safety Charity Brake and Greater Manchester Police, drove the wreckage of Joseph's car to London and placed it outside Parliament to hammer home the message that the law needs to change.
In October 2017 the Government agreed and announced it would be bringing in life sentences in the most serious cases of causing death by dangerous driving. That legislation has now been included as part of the Sentencing Bill which on Tuesday (10th May 2022) was given Royal Assent in the Queen's Speech. It means the maximum penalty for causing death by dangerous driving and causing death by careless driving has increased from 14 years to life, and judges will now decide when and how they implement the new legislation.
On hearing the news Joseph's dad Ian said, "It's about time. We have always wanted Joseph's legacy to be about helping others. The sentence handed down to the man that killed him was a slap in the face for us as a family, as though Joseph's life didn't mean anything." He went on to say, "we now hope Judges use these new powers, this new legislation, to stop any more families going through what we have."
The Government faced even more pressure to act following the death of Violet-Grace Youens from St. Helen's. The four-year-old died on March 24, 2017, after being hit by a stolen car travelling at 83mph. The man behind the wheel was jailed for nine years and four months, again serving half that sentence behind bars. The campaign for Violet's Law forced further debates in Parliament.
The Bill will make amendments to existing legislation in order to:
- Increase the maximum penalty for causing death by dangerous driving from 14 years’ imprisonment to life imprisonment
- Increase the maximum penalty for causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs from 14 years’ imprisonment to life imprisonment
- Create a new offence of causing serious injury by careless driving with a maximum penalty of 2 years’ imprisonment