The petition

E-petition 764553 asks the government to “introduce legislation so that defendants charged with controlling or coercive behaviour cannot receive a sentencing reduction for a guilty plea entered after initially pleading not guilty”. The petition notes that a late change in plea “can feel like continued abuse, prolonging distress and undermining justice”. The petition reached 100,000 signatures on 18 May 2026 and will close on 21 October 2026.

The petition was created by Paris Shears, whose ex-partner changed his plea to charges of intentional strangulation and assault by beating committed against her from not guilty to guilty on the first day of his trial. A further charge of controlling or coercive behaviour was left to ‘lie on file’. Her petition calls for the change to be known as Paris’s law. There is a website for her campaign.

Reductions for a guilty plea

In England and Wales, people who plead guilty are usually entitled to a reduction in the sentence they would otherwise have received had they been convicted following a not guilty plea. This principle is long standing and is now set out in legislation (section 73 of the Sentencing Act 2020). The rationale for the reduction is that it encourages defendants who know they are guilty to enter a guilty plea at the earliest possible stage, so saving court time and money and saving witnesses and victims from having to attend court to give evidence. Legislation does not set out how a guilty plea should affect a sentence.

The reduction in each particular case is for the court to decide. When deciding, courts are required to follow the Reduction in Sentence for a Guilty Plea guideline issued by the Sentencing Council unless it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.

The Sentencing Council has a statutory duty to issue a guilty plea guideline. The current version of the guideline was published in 2017 following public consultation. It applies to adult offenders.

The guideline says that the maximum reduction is one third and that the level of reduction depends on the point at which the guilty plea is indicated:

  • The usual reduction will be one third where the guilty plea was indicated at the first stage of proceedings.
  • A reduction of one quarter is suggested where the plea was after the first stage of proceedings, reducing on a sliding scale to a maximum of one tenth where the plea was entered on the first day of the trial.
  • The reduction should normally be decreased further, even to zero, if the guilty plea is entered during the course of the trial.

The court has a duty to explain whether it has applied a reduction in sentence for a guilty plea, and the level of any reduction as part of its duty to give reasons for the sentence imposed.

The principle of a reduction for a guilty plea applies to all offences, though, as detailed in the guideline, there are some limited exceptions to the levels of reduction set out above.

Sir Brian Leveson’s independent review of the Criminal Courts, commissioned by then Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood, recommended that the maximum reduction be increased to 40% where a plea is made at the first opportunity. Sir Brian noted that guilty pleas are being entered “later and later in the criminal court process” leading to wasted court time and delaying justice. The government is yet to respond to this recommendation.

Coercive control

Section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 sets out the offence of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship. It has a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment.

There is a Sentencing Council guideline for this offence. It states, as do guidelines for other offences, that the court should take account of any potential reduction for a guilty plea in accordance with section 73 of the Sentencing Act 2020 and the Reduction in Sentence for a Guilty Plea guideline.

The controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship guideline refers sentencers to the guideline Domestic abuse: overarching principles which identifies the principles relevant to the sentencing of all cases involving domestic abuse.

Further details about the section 76 offence can be found in the Crown Prosecution Service guidance and the controlling or coercive behaviour: statutory guidance framework. The government has committed to updating the statutory guidance by the end of 2026 to reflect a “significant evolution in understanding” of coercive control.

The government response

The Ministry of Justice responded to the petition in May 2026:

In relation to sentencing, it has long been the practice of the courts to give a reduction in sentence where a defendant pleads guilty. A guilty plea avoids the need for a trial (enabling cases to be dealt with quickly), shortens the gap between charge and sentence, and, in the case of an early plea, saves victims and witnesses from the concern about having to give evidence.

(…)

We recognise that guilty pleas made earlier in the process can save victims and witnesses from the concern of having to give evidence, particularly in cases involving controlling or coercive behaviour. However, even if an offender pleads later in the process, this can still save victims from giving potentially highly traumatic evidence, but the later plea is reflected by a substantially lower reduction in the sentence.

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