Thank you for writing to me regarding the sentencing of the killers of PC Andrew Harper. This is a matter that I taken a keen interest in and I have had the privilege to personally meet his widow Lissie Harper with a number of my parliamentary colleagues. I am fully supportive of her campaign to encourage tougher sentencing.
I am pleased that the Attorney General has referred the sentences of the three prosecuted men to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme as she considered them to be too low. I wholeheartedly agree that the sentences of the killers of PC Harper should be reviewed and I hope for an increase in their sentences.
The Court of Appeal will now decide whether the sentences they received were too low. The Court cannot change the jury’s decision to convict the offenders of manslaughter not murder, they can only review the sentences given to them for the crimes in respect of which they were convicted. The hearing will take place at the Court on November 7 and it is likely that it will take place on the same day as the appeal Bowers and Cole have made against their convictions and sentences.
The Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme allows victims of crime, their families, prosecutors and the public to ask for a review of sentences for certain crimes that fall within the scheme that they believe are too low.
A sentencing exercise is not an exact science but for each offence there is a range within which a judge might sentence reasonably. In the vast majority of cases, judges get it right, and we are seeing fewer sentencing errors. The scheme is still important to ensure that the Court of Appeal can review cases where there may have been a gross error in the sentencing decision.
I hope that their sentences will be increased and that PC Harper’s family receive the justice they deserve.
Thank you for writing to me regarding this matter and please do not hesitate to write to me again regarding any further concerns you may have.
