PC Harper killers sentenced

[ChazsBrilliantAttitude]

16 year and 13 year sentences.

I doubt they would have got much more if the murder charge had been successful.

I am glad to see the judge wasn’t convinced by their arguments.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-46544144

They have also been penalised for not showing remorse

Its a scandal the whole " no comment " thing

Pity they couldnt be tied behind a car for the same amount of distance !

The judge was very clear that this was very close to murder.

I understand his widow wants a retrial but I don’t think she would get a much better result.

That’s actually a very good sentence for manslaughter, especially since only one of them was driving the car.

She wants a murder conviction but you are right, the sentences won’t change drastically.

They'll be out before they're 30 and they will offend again. They've all got a string of previous convictions, one is a convicted sex offender. It might be a "good sentence" but it's not enough.

I wish they got life the scum. That poor wife I cannot imagine what she is going through

It’s despicable. That poor poor man and his family. I cannot even imagine or want to imagine what they must’ve seen and heard during the trial and the emotional toll of the grief.

Reading that victim impact statement was indescribably sad. Genuinely heartbreaking. What a truly lovely smile he had - so warm.

No length of time will be enough for his wife, and nor should it.

It was open to the judge to impose a life sentence. Having said that, these sentences are long for manslaughter.

so how long will they serve?
i feel so sorry for his family.

Should have been the maximum possible sentence for all of them.

No doubt they’ll appeal 🙄

Tbh, I expected life, at least for the driver.

However, I've just looked up the sentencing guidelines www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/crown-court/item/gross-negligence-manslaughter/

and it's only 2 years below the maximum for the driver.

So, even if he'd got a life sentence, the tariff would probably only have been 16 years anyway.

It is worth reading the sentencing report from the judge

www.judiciary.uk/judgments/r-v-long-bowers-and-cole/

Given their ages this is about the maximum that could be given

I believe the reason it wasn’t murder and was manslaughter is because they didn’t set out to kill. The sentence could have been life but it could be a recommended length that’s served. These young men are truly awful.

Should have been the maximum possible sentence for all of them

But then they would have appealed and, given the sentencing guidelines (link above), the appeal would probably have been successful and they could have ended up with a shorter sentence.

All my instincts are that the judge gave them the max he thought he could give without risking being overturned on appeal.

If that were a life sentence with a minimum tariff of 16 years then they wouldn't be eligible for parole before that, but I'm not sure if that goes for manslaughter as well. Hopefully so. Even if they were to serve half the sentence inside and half in the community being supervised by probation the likelihood of them breaching their licence conditions and being recalled seems high given their long offending history so I doubt they'd be out for long anyway. Agree those are good sentences, I have known people get less prison years for murder.

They are good sentences, and hopefully wiped the smile off their faces.
It was legally manslaughter, but their actions amounting to a complete disregard for his life was certainly bordering on Murder, hence the charge.
Good on the Judge, he got it right !

Long has to serve 10 years 8 months before he can be considered for release.

its unlikely they will be model prisoners, so hopefully won;t get an early release.

Actually the two who were given 13 years have to serve 2/3rds in prison and the rest on license. So they will be out in 8 years or so.

As a police officer and the wife of a police officer, I am absolutely disgusted by the sentencing.

They should have been found guilty of murder. It was argued that they never set out to kill him so it wasn’t premeditated. The second they knew he was being dragged behind them but decided not to stop, that’s when it became murder. There’s no way they thought that dragging someone behind a car at 60mph wouldn’t die.

It also highlights the absolute state of Policing in the UK, that PC Harper was already 4 hours late to finish his shift before he went to this incident because they were so short staffed and the jobs kept coming in. I think there is some blame here to be laid firmly at the feet of the Government for all the cuts that have been made over recent years to policing, in particular recruitment

It's a good sentence for manslaughter, but it's not long enough imo.

I feel desperately sorry for his widow and I think she’s been an absolute class act throughout this whole ordeal. However I think the judge has probably tried to act in a way to make appeal as a. Unlikely and b. Unsuccessful as possible.

They should have been found guilty of murder. It was argued that they never set out to kill him so it wasn’t premeditated. The second they knew he was being dragged behind them but decided not to stop, that’s when it became murder. There’s no way they thought that dragging someone behind a car at 60mph wouldn’t die.

Totally agree.

They should have been found guilty of murder. It was argued that they never set out to kill him so it wasn’t premeditated. The second they knew he was being dragged behind them but decided not to stop, that’s when it became murder. There’s no way they thought that dragging someone behind a car at 60mph wouldn’t die.

I agree, too.

I can't even begin to think about the horrific pain that PC Harper went through.

I’m glad they got decent sentences.