NSS raises concerns over judge’s religion remarks

The National Secular Society has asked for an investigation after a judge said a murderer's actions were "more" shocking because of her "religious devotion."

On Friday, Judge Richard Marks KC (pictured) sentenced Jemma Mitchell to life imprisonment for the murder of Mee Kuen Chong. He said: "the enormity of your crime is profoundly shocking, even more so given your apparent religious devotion."

The NSS has written to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office asking for his remarks to be reviewed.

The NSS said the "only rational conclusion" that can be drawn from this remark is that "it would have been relatively less shocking if a person without a 'religious devotion' had committed this crime.

"Thus, the judge has implied that religious people normally behave in a more moral way than non-religious people".

The NSS claimed the remarks fell short of impartiality requirements set out in the Guide to Judicial Conduct.

The guidelines also state judges "should ensure that no one in court is exposed to any display of bias or prejudice on grounds which include … religion".

The remarks "perpetuate baseless stereotypes that religion offers moral insights inaccessible to others and does a disservice to all upstanding non-religious members of our society", the NSS added.

It called for the judge to apologise and withdraw the remarks.

Mitchell decapitated Chong after Chong backed out of paying Mitchell £200,00 to renovate Chong's home. Mitchell then forged a will to inherit the majority of Chong's estate. The two had become friends through a church group.

NSS: "The judiciary must be, and must be seen to be, neutral in matters of religion"

NSS campaigns officer Alejandro Sanchez said: "This was a barbaric murder. The judge, in his sentencing, should not distract from that by invoking the alleged moral superiority of religious people.

"The judiciary must be, and must be seen to be, neutral in matters of religion."

The NSS has previously written to the justice secretary after Justice Charles Haddon-Cave, in his 2018 sentencing of the Parsons Green bomber, claimed Islam "is a religion of peace" and that the bomber had "violated the Qu'ran". It said such remarks ran "the risk of undermining the judicial principle of neutrality and impartiality".

Update: In December 2022, the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office replied to the NSS's concerns. It said it was at Judge Marks' discretion "whether or not to follow the guidance of the Equal Treatment Bench Book." It stated, without further explanation, that the judge's language was "not inappropriate".