Later today the Lord Chancellor will announce plans to automatically suspend parental responsibility from any parent who kills their partner. Known as ‘Jade’s Law,’ the measures will be brought before parliament by the end of the year and are supposed to put children first and protect families from manipulation of abusers behind bars
Speaking to the Conservative Party Conference today, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk will outline Conservative plans to introduce ‘Jade’s Law’.
The measures, named after Jade Ward who was tragically stabbed and strangled by her partner Russell Marsh as their children were sleeping in 2021, will introduce an automatic suspension of parental responsibility whilst any mother or father is serving time for killing the person with which they shared that responsibility.
Despite being sent to prison, Marsh has still attempted to control his children from behind bars. He retains rights to request school reports and medical details of his children and could even block them getting therapy and travelling abroad despite being found guilty of murdering their mother. But plans unveiled by Chalk will put a stop to future such injustices.
The new rules will create an automatic suspension of parental responsibility from a person who is convicted of the murder or voluntary manslaughter of a person with whom they share parental responsibility. A mother or father who kills the other parent will no longer be able to expect to continue to have responsibility for the children they shared from behind bars. This will make sure that children are protected from their remaining parent having any say in their life – from going on holiday abroad to which school they will attend.
The needs of the child will be put first and the burden on the family members to apply to the family court will be removed, meaning that they can focus on looking after and protecting the child.
The court would still consider the best interests of the child through a rapid and robust review stage and a right to apply to have the suspension lifted. And there will be an exemption for those parents who lash out with diminished responsibility following a history of domestic abuse.
The measures will be introduced to parliament as part of the Victims and Prisoners Bill.
The Lord Chancellor will say: “Jade Ward’s case and the moving campaign of her family has exposed an injustice in our family justice system, one that we are committed to fixing.
“Murderers who kill their partners should not be able to manipulate and control their children from behind bars, which is why we are fixing the law to protect families from this appalling behaviour.”
Government to strip partner-killers of parental responsibility, by staff reporter
