Ministers vow to force cowardly killers like Thomas Cashman to face their victims’ families in court before they are jailed under law change that would bar them from hiding in their cells
- Justice Secretary Raab is plotting new legislation to force them into court
- Gutless Cashman hid in cells as he was sentenced for killing Oliva Pratt-Korbel
Cowardly killers who try to avoid facing their victims’ distraught families before they are jailed will be forced to face them under a law change planned by ministers.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab is plotting new legislation that would prevent murders like Thomas Cashman from skulking in the cells while their sentence is passed.
Child killer Cashman, 34, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 42 years today for brutally gunning down nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in Liverpool.
But the gutless drug dealer refused to face her family at Manchester Crown Court, whining about CPS lawyers turning his trial into a ‘circus’ because they had celebrating putting him behind bars.
He is the latest in strong of high-profile killers who have lacked the character to take their punishment in person.
A Ministry of Justice source said: ‘Olivia Pratt-Korbel and her family weren’t able to hide from Thomas Cashman’s crime – so he shouldn’t be able to hide from justice.
‘This is exactly why the Deputy Prime Minister is committed to changing the law so that offenders are forced to face the consequences of their actions.’
Child killer Cashman, 34, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 42 years today for brutally gunning down nine-year-old Oliver Pratt-Korbel in Liverpool. But the gutless drug dealer refused to face her family at Manchester Crown Court,
Cashman was found guilty last week of murdering Olivia in a brutal attack that left her mother Cheryl Korbel, 46, badly wounded, as he chased convicted drug dealer Joseph Nee into their home in the Dovecot area of Liverpool on August 22 last year.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab is plotting new legislation that would prevent murders like Thomas Cashman from skulking in the cells while their sentence is passed.
Mr Raab wants to change the law to add time onto sentences for criminals who refuse to attend their own sentencing.
Cashman was found guilty last week of murdering Olivia in a brutal attack that left her mother Cheryl Korbel, 46, badly wounded, as he chased convicted drug dealer Joseph Nee into their home in the Dovecot area of Liverpool on August 22 last year.
However, defence barrister John Cooper KC told the sentencing today the killer would not attend the hearing because he was aware that Crown Prosecution Service officials had sung ‘We Are The Champions’ following the verdict.
He said: ‘He has been spoken to and been given certain advice but he is concerned that the matter is turning into a circus.’
Trial judge Mrs Justice Yip said she regarded his lack of attendance as ‘disrespectful’ to not only the court but those interested in proceedings, including the family of the deceased.
But she made it clear she did not extend his sentence to take into account his cowardly behaviour.
Last December the family of a woman who was brutally murdered as she walked home from a night out has said her killer should have faced them in court so they could ‘look him in the eye’ while he was sentenced.
Aspiring lawyer Zara Aleena, 35, was sexually assaulted before she was killed in Ilford, east London in June by a man who had been released from prison less than two weeks before.
Jordan McSweeney, 29, (pictured) was given a life sentence with a minimum of 38 years after pleading guilty to murder and sexual assault of Zara Aleena
Aspiring lawyer Zara Aleena, 35, (pictured) was sexually assaulted before she was killed in Ilford, east London in the early hours of June 26 last. McSweeney had been released from prison less than two weeks before
Jordan McSweeney, 29, was handed a life sentence with a minimum of 38 years this week after pleading guilty to murder and sexual assault Ms Aleena.
The sexual predator refused to come up from his cell for his sentencing at the Old Bailey, with the court being told that McSweeney, who had 28 previous convictions, ‘didn’t want to relive’ the night.
Ms Aleena’s aunt, Farah Naz, a 55-year-old psychotherapist, criticised the ‘unjust’ rules that allowed McSweeney to avoid facing the family who would have wanted to ‘look him in the eye’.
Speaking to the BBC at the time, Mr Raab also said that making convicts appear at sentencing hearings was ‘the very least the victims deserve’ and a ‘basic principle of British justice’.
He added that he is considering granting judges the power to impose longer terms on those who refuse to appear.
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