Court of Appeal hears appeals over sentence for Henry Nowak’s killer

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, mostly center (67%).

4 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

The Court of Appeal heard on Thursday appeals over the sentence of Vickrum Digwa, 23, who was jailed in June for life with a minimum term of 21 years for murdering Henry Nowak, 18, in Southampton in December last year. Digwa argues the sentence is too severe. Attorney General Ellie Reeves has referred it as unduly lenient, and counsel Jonathan Polnay KC argued that aggravating factors, including a false allegation of racism against Nowak and abuse of the right of Sikhs to carry a knife for religious reasons, justify a longer term. Nowak’s family called the appeal ludicrous. Sky News reports that the court increased the sentence on the day Digwa’s bid to reduce it failed.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

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The coverage spectrum counts the outlets covering a story at each of five points. A short or missing segment means that part of the spectrum is mostly quiet.

Governor Loaded verb“slams”It adds drama to what was said. The governor criticized the lawmakers; “slams” makes it sound like a fight.More neutral: criticizes lawmakers over budget delay

Highlights mark words that carry a judgement. Tap one to see why, and what a neutral writer would say. Here it is “criticizes”.

The 5-point spectrum

Far Left
Voices that strongly advocate for progressive policies and systemic change.
Left
Mainstream liberal perspectives focusing on social equality and regulation.
Center
Sources that prioritize neutral reporting and balanced viewpoints.
Right
Mainstream conservative perspectives focusing on market freedom and tradition.
Far Right
Voices that strongly advocate for conservative values and limited government.

How we measure bias

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

Vickrum Digwa was jailed for life in June for murdering Henry Nowak, 18, in Southampton.
Reported byLeft1Center2See the outletsHide the outlets
Left
The Guardian
Center
Sky News, BBC News
Digwa is appealing his sentence, arguing it is too severe.
Reported byLeft1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
Left
The Guardian
Center
BBC News
Attorney General Ellie Reeves has referred the sentence to the Court of Appeal as unduly lenient.
Reported byLeft1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
Left
The Guardian
Center
BBC News
Counsel for the attorney general argued that a false racism allegation against Nowak and abuse of the Sikh right to carry a knife were aggravating factors.
One outletThe Guardian· Left
Nowak’s family called the appeal ludicrous.
One outletBBC News· Center
Sky News reports the court increased Digwa’s sentence on the day his bid to reduce it failed.
One outletSky News· Center

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side present reports that Vickrum Digwa, convicted of murdering Henry Nowak, is appealing a life sentence while the attorney general seeks a longer one. The Guardian focuses on the attorney general’s case for a longer term, while Sky leads with a reported increase and BBC with the family’s anger.

the left
1 outlet
The Guardian’s headline centers the attorney general’s argument that Digwa should have received a longer sentence, citing false accusations and abuse of a religious knife-carrying right.
Henry Nowak’s killer should have had longer sentence, court of appeal hears
The GuardianLeftAll left-leaning headlines
the center
2 outlets
Sky News leads with a reported sentence increase on the day the appeal failed, while BBC News leads with the victim’s family calling the appeal ludicrous.
Henry Nowak's killer has life sentence increased
Sky NewsCenterAll center headlines
the right
No coverage yet
No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

Left0
No loaded words in its own voice.
Center0
No loaded words in its own voice.
Right
Has not covered this story.

Words quoted from someone else (2)Hide the quoted words

Loaded words that outlets reported someone else saying. They show what was said, not how the outlet chose to say it.

Loaded modifier
Quoted
disgraceMore neutral: concern
The word judges the early release of Digwa’s mother, and it is quoted from the family rather than used in the outlet’s own voice.
…their son's killer is being allowed to appeal against his sentence and it is a "disgrace" his mother, who hid the murder weapon, will be released from prison early.
Quoted byBBC News (Center)
These are Henry Nowak’s family’s words. The outlets are reporting them.
Loaded modifier
Quoted
ludicrousMore neutral: unfair
The word judges the appeal itself, and the family’s view is presented as the reader’s conclusion rather than as a reported opinion.
Henry Nowak's killer's appeal 'ludicrous', says family
Quoted byBBC News (Center)
These are Henry Nowak’s family’s words. The outlets are reporting them.

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

1 outlet

Leads with

attorney general’s case for a longer sentence
false racism allegation against Nowak
Sikh right to carry a knife

See the headline from the leftHide the headlines

The GuardianLeft
Henry Nowak’s killer should have had longer sentence, court of appeal hears
Attorney general challenging Vickrum Digwa’s ‘unduly lenient’ sentence, which lawyer for Digwa says is ‘excessive’ Vickrum Digwa, the killer of Henry Nowak, should have received a longer sentence because of his false accusations of racism against his victim and his abuse of a …
6 hr agoRead at The Guardian (opens in a new tab)

From the center

2 outlets

Leads with

court increased the sentence
family’s criticism of the appeal
Digwa’s appeal against his sentence

See the 2 headlines from the centerHide the headlines

BBC NewsCenter
Henry Nowak’s killer has minimum term increased to 25 years by Court of Appeal
Judges ruled Vickrum Digwa's original term was unduly lenient and refused his bid to have it cut.
1 hr agoRead at BBC News (opens in a new tab)
1 more from BBC News
- Henry Nowak's killer's appeal 'ludicrous', says family
Sky NewsCenter
Henry Nowak's killer has life sentence increased
Henry Nowak's killer has had his life sentence increased on the day his bid to reduce it failed.
3 hr agoRead at Sky News (opens in a new tab)

From the right

0 outlets

No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

Left
7 hr 13 min later
Its first report, Nov 5, 8:15 AM EST
Center
First to report
BBC News, Nov 5, 1:02 AM EST
Right
No report yet
From the outlets Mantle follows

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order

BBC NewsCenterNov 5, 1:02 AM EST
The GuardianLeftNov 5, 8:15 AM EST
Sky NewsCenterNov 5, 10:29 AM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

Court of Appeal hears appeals over sentence for Henry Nowak’s killer

Coverage spectrum

Key points

Compare views

the left

the center

the right

Language to notice

Side by side

From the left

Henry Nowak’s killer should have had longer sentence, court of appeal hears

From the center

Henry Nowak’s killer has minimum term increased to 25 years by Court of Appeal

Henry Nowak's killer has life sentence increased

From the right

How the coverage built up

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