Too severe? So was abuse of Bethany

MY heart goes out to Bethany Haines, who at just 20 years old has borne more than most of us do in a lifetime. She has lost her father – who was beheaded by IS fanatic Jihadi John – become a mother and fallen victim to sustained abuse by her ex-boyfriend. This week, Andrew Murray had his sentence overturned after he was jailed for 21 months for stalking her in a six-month campaign, and ordered to do 200 hours of community work as his jail term was ‘too severe’. Murray taunted Miss Haines, pictured, about her father’s death, destroyed a scrapbook containing pictures of him, and subjected her to a ‘degrading and humiliating campaign of abuse’. Forgive me if that, too, sounds ‘severe’. So much for protecting vulnerable female victims.