Justice Secretary supports Lancashire mum's campaign in memory of her son by bringing in life sentences for killer drivers
Kristian Johnson died when he was hit by a drink driver who was more than twice the legal limit
Last updated 1st Mar 2021
Life sentences for killer drivers will be brought in this year according to the Justice Secretary in support of a Lancashire mum's campaign.
Paula Johnson's been calling for a change in the law after the driver who killed her son Kristian served eighteen months for causing death by dangerous driving.
24-year-old Kristian Johnson was crossing Market Street in Bacup in June 2019 when he was hit by a car.
The driver, Emily Rogers, who was 19 at the time, was more than twice the legal limit. She admitted causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs, and was sentenced to three years in a young offenders institute but only served half that.
This prompted Paula to start a petition to bring in stiffer sentences for killer drivers.
The Government promised to bring in tougher sentences over three years ago but as of yet, that's still not happened.
Our Westminster reporter Georgie Prodromou asked the Justice Secretary Robert Buckland why that's the case and this is what he had to say: "I have direct experience of bringing some of these sentences to the court of appeal for review because I thought they were too low.
"I reaffirmed the government's commitments to change the law to increase the maximum for causing death by dangerous driving from 14 years to life, we're going to do that this year."
"The necessary legislation will be published very very shortly and we'll be able to follow through on not just the commitment of the last government but my own personal campaign within government to get this done.
"We owe it to families like the one's you've mentioned to do this."
Paula Johnson said she doesn't want any other family to go through what she has: "I don't want Kristian's death to have been in vain, and I want the petition to bring in life sentences - it should be a minimum of fifteen years.
"Eighteen months is a joke, isn't it for a 24-year-old life? It's an absolute joke and it's an insult to Kristian and it's an insult to me.
"Kristian's death has absolutely devastated and destroyed my family.
"If you've taken somebody's life, because you've got behind the wheel of a car on drugs or alcohol or both, then the sentence should impact you.
"And that should give me a feeling when I come out of court that I've got justice for my baby.
"And I still, to this day, don't feel that."
You can sign Paula's petition here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/575522