UK CPS accused of affirming violent men’s delusions

Aurin Makepeace met the man he would later attack while both were behind bars. Their relationship began in prison, survived release, and ended in a gruesome stabbing this summer that left his former partner, Steven Rothwell, dead. The case has since become as much about media language and institutional choices as about the violence itself.

What followed the killing was a media and official scramble over pronouns and legal identity: despite photographs showing a heavily bearded person with a square jaw, several outlets and prosecutors referred to Makepeace with female pronouns after he began identifying as transgender following an earlier jail release. That choice has provoked fierce debate about how public institutions report sex and gender in criminal cases.

From prison romance to fatal attack: what happened

Makepeace and Rothwell first crossed paths in custody — Rothwell while serving time for murder, Makepeace for a stabbing that nearly killed his victim. After both were released, they maintained a relationship for several years. The romance dissolved in 2023, though the two kept in touch.

On August 19, 2025, a violent episode ended in disaster: Makepeace stabbed Rothwell in the chest and left him to die. Authorities say Makepeace had assaulted Rothwell’s girlfriend earlier that same day and later offered an implausible account of events as he was charged. The court found him guilty.

How the press and prosecutors labeled the offender

Photographs used in reporting showed a person with a heavy beard and a low, square jawline. Still, some local outlets described the defendant as a “woman,” while national tabloids and several stories used the term “transwoman” and adopted female pronouns.

The Crown Prosecution Service’s public statement also used female pronouns when describing the verdict, a choice that drew pointed criticism from observers who said it muddied facts in a criminal proceeding. Critics argued that referring to an obviously masculine-presenting convicted killer as a woman risked confusing readers and skewing public perception.

Why precise reporting about sex and gender matters in crime coverage

Statistics show clear differences in the prevalence and types of offending between men and women. That is why many experts insist on careful, factual language when reporting sex and gender in criminal cases.

• Violent offending: Ministry of Justice data indicate roughly 24,000 men are incarcerated for violence against the person, about 27% of the male prison population, compared with roughly 3,500 women.
• Sexual offending: Around 18–20% of male prisoners are convicted sex offenders, while the comparable figure for women is nearer 2–3%.
• Trans-identifying prisoners: Of the small number (reported at 245) of male prisoners who identify as transwomen or nonbinary, a reported 151 are convicted sex offenders — about 62% of that subgroup.

Those gaps are the basis for arguments that accurate reporting of biological sex — separate from gender identity — is essential for understanding patterns of violence, allocating resources, and protecting vulnerable people.

Legal rulings and shifting public opinion on sex and gender

Recent judicial decisions in the UK have clarified the legal meaning of sex, prompting renewed public debate. Nearly a year after the UK Supreme Court reaffirmed that “sex” in law refers to biological characteristics, commentators and litigants have pushed back against some institutional practices.

Polling indicates changing public attitudes on policies that allow people who were born male to access women-only spaces. One survey cited that 55% of respondents believed allowing men into women’s toilets or changing rooms presents a real risk to women’s safety — a statistic often invoked in debates about policy and media coverage.

Institutional trust, editorial choices, and public safety

Critics say when public broadcasters, courts, and newspapers prioritize requested pronouns over clear descriptions of sex in crime reporting, they risk undermining public trust. That distrust can have practical consequences:

1. Readers may feel misled, reducing confidence in news organizations.
2. Official statistics and research can become harder to interpret if sex categories are inconsistently reported.
3. Front-line professionals and the public may be less able to recognize and mitigate gendered patterns of harm.

Describing a violent man as a woman is not merely a courtesy to an individual; it is a decision with practical impacts on safety, data integrity, and public confidence.

Voices in the debate: professionals, victims’ advocates, and journalists

Some journalists and editors say they are following the wishes and identities of the people involved, or relying on guidance from courts and prosecutors. Others argue that courtroom transparency and reader clarity demand that reporters distinguish between biological sex and gender identity when it is relevant to the story.

Victims’ advocates and researchers emphasize that recognizing patterns in offending requires clarity in how we describe perpetrators. They caution that collapsing sex categories in reporting can obscure who is most likely to commit certain crimes and undermine preventative strategies.

What experts recommend for responsible coverage

• Use plain, factual descriptions of sex and gender where they matter to public understanding of a case.
• When a subject’s gender identity differs from their biological sex, explain both clearly to avoid confusing readers.
• Report the legal and statistical context so that readers can interpret individual cases within broader patterns of crime.

Language, accountability, and the limits of deference

At the heart of the controversy is a question about which obligation should take priority for public institutions: deference to an individual’s preferred identity, or clarity and consistency in public communication about crime. For many observers, the balance should tilt toward the latter when lives and public safety are at stake.

When courts, police, and the press obscure basic facts about offenders’ biological sex, they can unintentionally hinder rather than help efforts to prevent violence.

Jo Bartosch is co-author of the book Pornocracy.

You might also like:

• Journalists abandon truth: how gender coverage and clickbait erode media credibility
• Transgender media coverage: why male journalists embraced trans rights
• Jenni Murray’s feminist courage in British broadcasting
• BBC accused of gaslighting public over trans coverage
• Stonewall treachery must never be forgotten

Robert Johnson

Robert Johnson is a dedicated columnist focusing on political and social debates. With twelve years in editorial writing, he provides nuanced, well‑argued perspectives. His commentaries invite you to form your own views and engage in critical issues.