Jodian Taylor, whose 15-year-old son Daejaun Campbell was stabbed to death in Woolwich, south-east London, has said she felt "slapped in the face" after learning that one of the two men convicted over his death could be freed from prison early. Daejaun was killed on Eglinton Road on 22 September 2024, and one of his killers, Marko Balaz, is now eligible for early release under the Sentencing Act 2026 despite having been convicted of manslaughter rather than murder.
Taylor said she learned of the possibility in an email sent to her in June 2026 through the Probation Service's Victim Contact Scheme, which warned that the legal changes could shorten Balaz's time behind bars.
No length of sentence can ease the pain that they've caused.
Now knowing that one of them may have a sentence potentially reduced, it was a further slap in the face getting that email in June.
I feel as though the systems that are in place to protect us cause more harm than good,
Imri Doue was found guilty of Daejaun's murder and given a life sentence with a minimum term of 21 years. Balaz, of Abbey Wood, was cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 11 years, a distinction that now leaves him potentially eligible for release well before the two-thirds point of his sentence that would previously have applied.
What are the changes to the law?
From 1 October 2026, the Sentencing Act 2026 changed release rules so that most prisoners serving standard determinate sentences — the most common type of prison term in England and Wales — are freed after serving a third of their sentence rather than the 40% or halfway mark that had applied. According to a national broadcaster's report, some prisoners serving four years or more for certain violent or sexual offences will move from a two-thirds release point to halfway, while rape and specified child sexual offences remain excluded from the reform entirely.
The legislation followed a review led by former justice secretary David Gauke, which recommended an earned-release scheme intended to relieve overcrowding in prisons across England and Wales, according to the same report. The Ministry of Justice has said the reforms are designed to make sentencing more effective and improve how offenders are managed once they return to the community, adding that most people released under the scheme will be subject to electronic monitoring.
Taylor said this assurance offered little comfort, noting that Balaz had already been wearing an electronic tag at the time her son was killed.
Why was Balaz convicted of manslaughter rather than murder?
During sentencing, the court heard that Balaz had encouraged Doue in the moments before the killing, a factor the judge cited when passing the manslaughter sentence. The judge also weighed Balaz's previous convictions, which included drug offences and possession of a knife.
He was already an offender in the community,
According to a report on the Old Bailey proceedings, Balaz also admitted separate drugs offences alongside the manslaughter conviction. A third teenager who had also been charged with murder over Daejaun's death was acquitted when the trial concluded in July 2025, according to coverage of the trial's conclusion.
I don't understand what message you're trying to give a perpetrator like this in terms of consequences for their actions, but this isn't it.
The moment you rob someone else, or are assisted in robbing someone, of their life, overcrowding should be the least of your problems.
What has the safeguarding review found?
Taylor has previously said her son was groomed by a criminal gang and that she sought help from his school, social services and the police before his death. A child safeguarding practice review published by the Royal Borough of Greenwich last month identified multi-agency failings in the handling of his case, and according to a separate report on the review's findings, it recommended stronger collaboration between agencies, earlier intervention for young people at risk, improved identification of exploitation, and greater support for families and health professionals involved in such cases.
Taylor is not the only parent to have voiced anger over the reforms; other bereaved relatives, including the mother of Andrew Flamson, who died in a hit-and-run, and the mother of PC Andrew Harper, have separately described the early release scheme as a further blow following the loss of their loved ones.
Taylor said the news had deepened both her grief and her distrust of the authorities responsible for protecting her son.
He was calm, he was loving, he was caring, he was thoughtful,
He had qualities that I didn't even possess.
He was athletic, he was ambitious, he was just incredible.
What has the Ministry of Justice said?
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said officials understood the public's frustration that such measures were being considered at all.
share the public's anger that these options are even being considered, after we inherited a prison system on the brink of collapse.
We are fixing this by building 14,000 new prison places, expanding electronic tagging on an unprecedented scale, and investing in probation services at record levels.
The department also said it was accelerating plans to keep the most dangerous offenders in custody for longer.
fast-tracking a plan to keep more of the most dangerous offenders behind bars.
That's on top of murderers and those serving sentences for rape, serious child sexual abuse and grooming offences who are already blocked from any changes.
The Probation Service's letter to Taylor had explained what release under the new system would involve.
When an offender is released, they will enter the intensive supervision stage. We expect that the vast majority of prisoners will be subject to electronic monitoring.
What happens next?
Doue is reported to intend to appeal against his murder sentence, according to a tabloid report on the case. Any future updates on Balaz's release status are expected to continue reaching Taylor through the Probation Service's Victim Contact Scheme, the same channel that first alerted her to the possibility of early release in June 2026.
Key Facts
- Daejaun Campbell, 15, was fatally stabbed on Eglinton Road, Woolwich, on 22 September 2024.
- Imri Doue was convicted of murder and jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years; Marko Balaz was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 11 years.
- Under the Sentencing Act 2026, most fixed-term prisoners are released after serving a third of their sentence from 1 October 2026, rather than 40% or halfway.
- Rape and specified child sexual and grooming offences remain excluded from the reform.
- A Greenwich safeguarding review found multi-agency failings in the response to Daejaun's exploitation before his death.
