Charity blasts sentence of driver who killed brothers

ROAD safety charity Brake has added its voice to those questioning the prison sentence handed to the killer driver of two Coventry brothers.

The family of Corey and Casper PlattMay has already called for greater sentences for those who kill while behind the wheel, with the boys’ gran branding the sentence handed to Robert Brown a “joke”.

Brown was handed a nine-year jail term after the car he was driving collided with six-year-old Corey and Casper, two, as they were crossing Longfellow Road, in Stoke, during a family outing to the park.

Brown, 53, from Wyken, was high on cocaine at the time of the incident on February 22.

He pleaded guilty to two charges of causing death by dangerous driving, as well as driving while disqualified, and having no insurance and or a valid licence.

Heartbroken relatives of the two boys, solicitors and local councillors have been among those stating that harsher sentences are needed in cases such as this.

And now road safety charity Brake has had its say with a spokesman stating: “This is a truly tragic case that has ripped the heart out of the Platt-May family.

“No sentence will ever bring their boys back but the deliverance of justice is still vital; however, justice appears all too lenient in this case.

“We urge the courts to use the full extent of the law for such abhorrent crimes, making clear the horrific nature of these acts and acting as a deterrent to others.

“We also urge the Government to bring in tougher sentences for drivers who kill.

“Such measures were announced more than six months ago and yet are still to be implemented – the failure to do so has led to injustices like we have seen here.”

Sentencing guidelines dictate that sentences at the most serious level of the charge – causing death by dangerous driving – have a starting point of eight years in prison with a range from seven to 14 years.

Moving from the starting point, the judge then has to take in to account any aggravating or mitigating factors.

Aggravating factors include: previous convictions, more than one person killed, other offences committed at the same time and the offender leaving the scene.

Conversely, mitigating factors include: the victim being a close friend or family member, the offender being seriously injured, lack of driving experience, or was the driving in response to a genuine emergency. Once the judge has added or taken away time for those factors, they must then consider if a guilty plea was entered and, if so, when. If a guilty plea was entered at the first possible opportunity (initial hearing in magistrates’ court) then a reduction of one-third is taken off the sentence.

If the guilty plea is entered after the first magistrates’ hearing, but is then done so at the first crown court hearing, a reduction of one-quarter is applied. In Brown’s case, his sentence had he been convicted after trial would have been 12 years, but this was reduced to nine years (a quarter reduction) due to his guilty plea entered at the first crown court hearing.

Rebecca Hearsey, specialist lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing the boys’ parents, Louise and Reece, said: “We often see first-hand the devastation and heartbreak that is caused by the reckless and selfish actions of drivers such as Robert Brown who pose a real danger on our roads.

“Judges are hamstrung by current sentencing tariffs and many people will be shocked by the apparent lenient sentence that Robert Brown has received.

“We welcome the Ministry of Justice’s proposals to introduce tougher sentences and would ask that these proposals are turned into law at the earliest possible opportunity. Hopefully they will act as a deterrent and help motorists to think about the consequences of their actions, so the number of people killed or badly injured on our roads reduces.”

Currently, the maximum sentence for causing death by dangerous driving is 14 years. Killer drivers will soon face life behind bars after plans to increase maximum sentences received resounding support from families and campaigners last year.

Ministers confirmed back in October 2017, that drivers who cause death by speeding, racing, or using a mobile phone could face sentences equivalent to manslaughter, with maximum penalties raised from 14 years to life. Those who cause death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs will also face life sentences, and a new offence of causing serious injury by careless driving will be created.