MURDERS that changed the law

The UK legal system is forever updating, reforming and fixing past wrongs or closing loopholes. That’s the nature of our criminal-justice process. It’s done through statute, all the Acts passed by Parliament. And it’s also done using common law – precedents set by judges handing down sentences, rulings and judgements in the cases they have heard.

But, sometimes, crimes – usually those considered heinous – trigger such a visceral response from the victim’s family that they fight, often for years, to change the law to try to make sure the crime against their loved one can never happen again.