Petition · past parliament · Ministry of Justice

Extend definition of attempted murder offence to include stabbing

Closed 182 signatures

What the petition asks

The Government should extend the legal definition of attempted murder to include stabbing someone anywhere on the body.
Time and again we hear of people dying through knife crime and the killers claiming they didn't intend to kill the person, meaning they can end up being charged with manslaughter only.

If you stab someone anywhere on the body they can die so stabbing someone should be considered as attempted murder and prosecuted accordingly.

Timeline

6 Dec 2021 Petition opened for signatures
6 Jun 2022 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 182
Status Closed
Department Ministry of Justice
Opened 6 Dec 2021
Closed 6 Jun 2022

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.