Appeals court raises killer's sentence to 25 years after cruel videos released

Vickrum Digwa, 23, fatally stabbed 18-year-old Henry Nowak in Southampton on December 3 last year. Digwa used a ceremonial knife to inflict multiple stab wounds while Nowak remained conscious and gravely injured. After the attack, Digwa filmed Nowak as he lay dying and falsely claimed the teenager had racially abused him. Police body-worn video showed officers handcuffing Nowak as he lay dying and telling officers he could not breathe. One officer replied that he did not think Nowak had. The footage's release sparked violent protests and led to charges against 28 people. Attorney General Ellie Reeves referred the case to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient earlier this year. Digwa also challenged his sentence as manifestly excessive. Three senior judges, led by Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, ruled the original 21-year minimum term was too lenient. They increased it to 25 years, crediting Digwa with 175 days already spent in custody. The new minimum term is 24 years and 190 days. Digwa remains subject to a life sentence and must serve the minimum before the Parole Board can consider release. The judges said Digwa's religious reason for carrying a kirpan dagger was not an aggravating factor. Instead, they cited his decision to draw and repeatedly use a large, dangerous weapon against an unarmed man. They also condemned his filming and goading of Nowak as incomprehensible cruelty. Henry's family said there is no reduction in their suffering and that their fight for justice is far from over.