Angry about lenient sentence for murder of elderly man in park

Wasn’t there videos on the girl’s phone with racist name calling?!

Yes, I absolutely understand that the offenders are children. I’ve worked with children for over 30 years. 12 and 14 year olds know right from wrong (apart from a very small minority).

The legal age of criminal responsibility in this country is 10. They committed a crime and should be punished accordingly, within the law.

But the fact that the judge declared that the attack wasn’t racially motivated is causing serious concern. Many, many people think that it was because of the language used by the defendants. If it the judge had decided that there was a racial element to the attack, the sentences would most likely have been longer.

Judges do make mistakes when sentencing and I think these sentences need to be reviewed as unduly lenient.

This is a cruel, evil and clearly racially-aggravated case of murder. On behalf of his family, I am saddened, angry and disappointed. It is cases such as these that further reinforce my disillusionment with the police and justice system in this country.

It’s as though little to no value was placed on that poor gentleman’s life.

Absolutely abhorrent offenders that deserve much harsher sentencing.

my thoughts are with his family. I don’t know how you grieve such an incident.

This is so heartbreaking,the poor family. Really sad story and shockingly low sentence they should have got life for that it's horrible.

I've applied today to the Attorney General for their sentences to be reviewed. I suggest everyone who feels as strongly about this issue as I do does the same so that the AG comprehends how disgusted people are about this shocking crime and the unduly lenient sentencing.
www.gov.uk/ask-crown-court-sentence-review

Come on Keir, where will justice come from, if it doesn't come from you?

The Home Secretary, presumably, since Justice is their remit and nothing to do with the PM.

Any repercussions for their parents, I wonder?

I think serious questions need to be asked about the justice system in this country.

And it was manslaughter and should have been murder

I honestly don't care about rehabilitating criminals. I can't see why they should be given the chance to live normal lives, their victims don't have this choice. Just lock them up and throw away the key.

The offenders were children.

Don’t you understand that?

I just can't understand the judge saying that racism had nothing to do with it, it very clearly did!

👏🏻

I can understand the hope that young teenagers might be able to grow as people and still make a decent life, so I can understand the wish to rehabilitate. I also understand that the boy had a dysfunctionai upbringing. So I suppose they have to be given a chance due to their ages. I agree the sentences should have been longer though.

However very sadly I don't know if somebody capable of knocking a defenceless old man to the ground and kicking him, then filming it could ever become a decent person. Especially the boy who told a pack of lies about poor Mr Kohli, claiming he had a knife and the boy was defending the girl from him. Ridiculous. Insulting his memory and giving his family more grief.

The judge saw through the boy's 'remorse', however he made ill judged remarks about the attack not being racially motivated. Clearly it was, imo. I should think the Asian community in Leicester will be furious about this and I wouldn't blame them.

Absolutely agree

• Predominantly white police force doesn't act on reports of racist, anti-social behaviour.
• White teen kills elderly Asian male.
• White judge passes pathetic sentence on white teen.

If this was 2 black or Asian kids killing a white pensioner, the sentence would have been much harsher.

Come on Keir, where will justice come from, if it doesn't come from you?

Its shameful

A racist attack on a vulnerable man. This is just an insult to the family.

Of course she should go to a young offenders unit she needs to go through rehabilitation not just concentrate on her education

Has the judge outlined his reasoning for declaring that the brutal killing of an Asian gentleman by white teenagers who had previously used racially-motivated abusive language towards the same man is not racially motivated?

Does that same judge ever go to his local park and observe feathered creatures swimming in the pond and quacking - and wonder what kind of creatures they could possibly be, as he is sure they definitely can't be ducks?

There aren't any prisons for thirteen year olds. I'm not sure about young offenders units. You're talking about a child, what exactly would you like to happen to her?

What's good for the goose is good for the gander- if the offender's young age is a mitigating factor, surely their victim's vulnerability and fragility also inherently worsens their crime. They singled him out because he was less likely to be able fo fight back. They didn't target a 6ft tall 35 year old boxer.

Yes, I completely agree.

It might make some of these terrible excuses for parents think twice if they know that they could suffer for not bothering to do their job.

I know there are some cases where children go completely off the rails, in spite of their concerned parents' very best efforts; but I think there should be an automatic assumption of severe negligent guilt - and therefore prosecution and punishment - on the part of the parents when children commit serious crimes, until proven otherwise.

The Mirror and the Telegraph are the only papers to put this on the front page this morning.

This ^

The sentences are sickening. This man's life has been treated as though he's disposable.

Time to make a change to sentencing guidelines.... adult crimes deserve adult time. Where is the justice for this poor man? Where is the punishment- 14 year old don't live in a bubble - yes teenagers lack impulse control but not to that extent.

If children get a reduced sentence because of their age and lack of maturity, the parents or guardians should also be prosecuted for the balance of the sentence.

Say an adult would get 10 years in prison, and because of their age the child will only get 4. The remaining 6 years should be served by the parents and guardians if applicable.

The crime is the crime and should be sentenced accordingly. If we accept that children should get a shorter sentence because of their immaturity, by extension we must accept that the people responsible for looking after them are also guilty for failing to do so.

Personally I think the two criminals should have got life without the chance of parole - we should be quicker to write off the lives of offenders like these, treat their lives with the same contempt that they treated the life of their victim.