Teen pleads guilty to murder of 3 girls in attack on kids' Taylor Swift-themed dance class in U.K.
CBSJan 22
UK Teen Who Murdered 3 Girls Jailed for 52 Years
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Above: Axel Rudakubana has been jailed for life, to serve a minimum of 52 years, for the murder of three girls in Southport on 29 July 2024. Image copyright: via Merseyside Police
The Facts
Axel Rudakubana — the 18-year-old who fatally stabbed three girls and wounded eight other children, as well as two adults, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, UK last year — was jailed for a minimum of 52 years on Thursday.
In sentencing Rudakubana, Justice Julian Goose said he couldn't legally impose a "whole-life order" — meaning imprisonment without the prospect of release — as he was nine days shy of his 18th birthday when he carried out the attack.
Nonetheless, Goose said he would only be released if a parole board believed he is no longer a threat to the public, adding: "It is likely he will never be released and he will be in custody for all of his life."
The Spin
Left narrative
This was a savage and sadistic attack that shattered families and will mar the lives of those who survived with unspeakable horror. While a whole-life sentence would have been preferred, that's not possible because of the law. Nonetheless, Rudakubana will still likely spend the rest of his living years in prison.
Right narrative
An attack with this level of sickness and depravity demands the strongest possible sentence — not delivered here — and the law needs to be immediately changed to reflect that. Not only that, but there needs to be discussions about bringing back the death penalty in such extreme instances.
