Vickrum Digwa jailed for life for murder of Henry Nowak, 21-year minimum

Vickrum Digwa was convicted of murdering Henry Nowak, a student who was stabbed in Southampton, southern England. Digwa was found guilty at Southampton Crown Court in 2026 and was sentenced to life imprisonment the following month.

The judge, William Mousley, set a minimum term of 21 years. In English law, a life sentence is indefinite, and the minimum term is the period the offender must serve before he can even be considered for release by the Parole Board. Reports on the case also described Digwa's large collection of knives, which he held under a religious exemption.

The sentence soon came under challenge from two directions. The Solicitor General, a senior government law officer, referred it to the Court of Appeal as possibly "unduly lenient", a mechanism that lets the courts review sentences thought too low. Digwa himself also sought to appeal against both his conviction and his sentence. The case drew wide attention and prompted debate over knife offences and the exemptions that allow some people to carry blades.