The UK’s youngest knife murderers have had their prison sentences increased after senior judges at the Court of Appeal agreed they were ‘unduly lenient’.
The two boys, who cannot be identified, were given life sentences with minimum terms of eight-and-a-half years for the murder of 19-year-old Shawn Seesahai in Wolverhampton on November 13 last year.
They were aged 12 at the time of the killing and became the youngest defendants convicted of murder in the UK since Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, both aged 11, were found guilty in 1993 of murdering two-year-old James Bulger.
On Thursday, lawyers for the Solicitor General said the sentences of both boys were ‘unduly lenient’ and should be increased, stating it was a ‘particularly serious type of case’.
Three senior judges ruled that the minimum terms should be increased to 10 years, meaning the youths will spend nine years and 60 days behind bars because of time already served.
Lord Justice William Davis, sitting with Mr Justice Bennathan and Judge Nicholas Dean KC, said: ‘We have, with some reluctance and sadness, come to the conclusion that the minimum terms imposed by Mrs Justice Tipples were unduly lenient.’
The judge said that full written reasons for their decision would come at a later date.
Mr Seesahai’s family said: ‘We recognise that justice has been served today for the murder of our beloved son, Shawn, and we welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to increase the sentences of those responsible from eight-and-a-half to 10 years.
‘Shawn’s life was taken in a brutal and senseless act of violence. He was attacked with a weapon carried with clear intent, leaving us devastated and haunted by the thought of what he endured.
‘While no sentence can ever bring Shawn back, we feel that today’s decision better reflects the gravity of the actions that took him from us and acknowledges the immense loss we live with every day.
‘We hope this outcome sends a strong and clear message that carrying and using knives will not be tolerated. We are grateful to everyone who supported the review of this case and to the Attorney General’s Office for ensuring that justice was pursued.
‘As we continue to honour Shawn’s memory, we remain committed to raising awareness about the dangers of knife crime, in the hope that no other family has to endure the pain we carry.’
Mr Seesahai was stabbed through the heart and lungs and suffered a skull fracture during the attack on Stowlawn playing fields in East Park.
One of the wounds he suffered measuring 23cm deep – almost passing through his body.
Both boys pleaded not guilty to murder, blaming the other for inflicting four wounds with a machete.
One of the youths admitted to possession of the knife before their trial at Nottingham Crown Court and the other was found guilty of the same charge when they were both unanimously convicted of murder in June.
High Court judge Mrs Justice Tipples had ruled the defendants should be protected by anonymity orders, saying their welfare outweighed the wider public interest in open justice and unrestricted reporting.
Sentencing the pair, she said the murder was ‘horrific and shocking’ and that Mr Seesahai had ‘everything to live for’.
The Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme allows relatives, victims and members of the public who believe sentences are unreasonably low to ask the AGO to review cases relating to several specific serious offences and consider whether they should be sent to the Court of Appeal.
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