‘We must get tough on knife thugs to end the crimewave’
suspended sentence. The figures were uncovered by a parliamentary question from Tory MP Philip Davies.
Mr Davies said: “The offence was so serious the judge deemed it needed a prison sentence, then they have just given a suspended sentence.
“For so many people to get away with no sentence is unacceptable. Judges appear to be over-ruling the will of Parliament with soft sentences.
“There’s a very clear expectation if you are convicted of these offences, you should be sent to prison.
“There is no justification for threatening someone with a knife. I don’t see how so many people can be allowed to walk out of court scot-free after such a serious offence.”
Almost 50 people have been stabbed to death this year in London, with rural counties also seeing a drastic increase in violence as drugs gangs fight turf wars over county lines.
Campaigner Amy Morgan, 41, said suspended sentences “do not work” and urged judges to impose much tougher sentences. Her teenage son Tyler Thompson was knifed in a street fight in Leicester in 2015. His killer Pravdit Sian, 19, had previously been cautioned for carrying a knife and sent on a knife-awareness course.
Sian was handed a nine-year jail sentence for manslaughter in August 2016. She said: “It’s just a joke. And they wonder why knife crime is rising. You can kill someone knowing you will just get a slap on the wrist.
“Time and again we see someone caught carrying a knife and all they get is possession of a bladed article. They are given a max of 10 months.
“They will think they have got away with it. If you are carrying a knife, you have the intention to use it. It is not for protection, which is the rubbish they come out with.”
Patrick Green of anti-knife group the Ben Kinsella Trust said: “Tough sentences are very important, particularly at this time when we are seeing knife crime rising year on year.
“Lower sentences do not reflect the seriousness of the crime. If you are carrying a knife, particularly around young people and they are involved in an altercation, there’s a greater possibility of someone being murdered.”
Ms Morgan, who has been campaigning for over a year for tougher sentences, handed in a petition this month signed by 61,800 supporters and held a protest at Downing Street.
She added: “If my son’s killer had been given a sentence the first time he was caught carrying a knife, I believe he would still be here today. If they are caught carrying a knife, they are more likely to use it second or third time.”
The mother of a teenager killed after a row over who was “least gay” yesterday urged young people to “think” before they destroy lives.
Jordan Wright, 19, traded insults with Paul Akinnuoye, 20, on WhatsApp before arranging to fight in Blackheath, south-east London.
Mr Wright believed he was having a fist fight but Akinnuoye arrived armed with a blade and stabbed him.
The 19-year-old’s mother Katharine Alade said: “The youth are so different to when I was growing up. I would say think before you act.”