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'LIFE MEANS LIFE'
Evil Southport killer Axel Rudakubana should rot in jail & be shown no mercy when he is sentenced, says victim’s parent
Rudakubana has shown no remorse and refused to speak at all previous hearings
A PARENT of a Southport stabbing victim last night called for Axel Rudakubana to “rot in jail” after he is sentenced today.
He urged the judge to show the remorseless killer no mercy when he hands him a life term for his sickening murders of three children.
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But Rudakubana cannot get a whole life tariff as he was 13 days from his 18th birthday when he carried out the atrocity last July.
The parent of one of the little girls who needed surgery after the attack said the rules should change.
He also slammed the “systemic failure” of the Government, police, anti-terror agency Prevent and schools for their inaction — calling Rudakubana a “ticking timebomb”.
The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons to protect his child, said: “Axel should rot in jail.
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"He was only a few days off his 18th birthday when he committed these most horrendous offences.
"Why should he be spared a whole life tariff when he hasn’t spared a thought for any of the victims’ families? Life should mean life.
“Even if he gets 40 years, it’s not enough. He could be out to enjoy the latter part of his life. The three little girls he murdered can’t do that. If that means the law needs changing, so be it.
“He’s an adult and should be tried like one. His crimes are so horrific, an exception should be made by the judge.”
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Rudakubana will be sentenced by Judge Mr Justice Goose at Liverpool crown court for his stabbing rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Da Silva Aguiar, nine, were murdered and eight youngsters injured.
Farage slams Southport 'cover-up' after triple killer was referred to anti-terror scheme THREE times
Also stabbed were yoga teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes, 63, who intervened.
Rudakubana was told a life sentence is “inevitable”.
But he will dodge a whole life tariff, which would mean death in jail, with no chance of parole. According to the Ministry of Justice, international law forbids it for under-18s.
Rudakubana, who has no obvious evidence of mental health disorder, has shown no remorse and refused to speak at all previous hearings.
The families of his victims prepared for a month-long trial, only for him to admit all 16 charges on the first day. He refused to stand while saying “guilty” to each count.
Why should he be spared a whole life tariff when he hasn’t spared a thought for any of the victims’ families? Life should mean life
Parent of stabbing victim
Guidelines suggest his pleas could reduce his sentence by a third.
The Southport relative, who revealed his child is still struggling “mentally”, savaged Rudakubana for his lack of remorse.
He said: “He only changed his plea in the hope of getting a reduction in his sentence. It was to try to save his own skin.”
It emerged this week that he was reported to Prevent three times, the first in 2019, but nothing was done.
He had a clear “obsession with violence”, searching genocide online and possessing an al-Qaeda training manual, but was still free to buy his 20cm knife from Amazon.
The parent said: “This day didn’t need to happen if people in his past dealt with the problem when presented with it.
“There were several chances to stop this horrific outcome, so the blame ultimately lands with every organisation that came across him. It’s one massive failure of people.”
He supports the public inquiry announced by the PM and a crackdown on online knife sales.
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Sir Keir Starmer said yesterday: “It is unacceptable these murder weapons could be bought with two clicks. Technology is there to stop it, and we’re going to take action.”
Rudakubana, of Banks, Lancs, will get a minimum term, with the starting point likely to be 30 years.
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