‘A matter of life and death’: abusers who strangle partners getting off lightly, say campaigners

Offenders convicted under new law in England and Wales spared jail, analysis carried out by the Observer shows

Abusers who strangle their partners are being given lenient punishments that fail to reflect the severity of their crimes, campaigners say, after an Observer analysis of cases prosecuted under a new law suggested inconsistencies in sentencing.

Violent offenders who committed attacks in front of children, threatened victims with knives or were convicted of multiple offences are among those spared jail in recent months, according to court records for England and Wales.