THE GOVERNMENT’S senior legal adviser has received a request to consider whether the nine-year sentence of the Coventry man who killed the Platt-May brothers while driving on cocaine is too lenient.
Robert Brown was sentenced to nine years in prison for causing the deaths of Corey and Casper Platt-May, aged six and two respectively – a charge to which Brown pleaded guilty.
Following the controversial decision, Corey and Casper’s parents called for Brown to receive a life sentence and appealed to the government to introduce tougher sentences for driving offences.
The Attorney General’s office has been asked for the sentencing to be considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme (ULS).
Members of the public can ask the Attorney General’s office to examine sentences handed down by Crown Courts in England and Wales within 28 days of sentencing.
The government’s Ministry of Justice last October announced plans to introduce life jail terms for motorists who cause death by dangerous driving as well as careless drivers who kill while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The current maximum sentence is 14 years.
The boys’ mother, Louise , 28, said after Friday’s sentencing hearing: “Corey and Casper were everything to us and we will not get over losing them.
“To watch your children die in front of you is something no parent should have to experience.
“Our family should have had so many years ahead of us to create a lifetime of memories but these have all been snatched away because of Robert Brown.
“We don’t blame the judge for the sentence he imposed, but what today has highlighted is that those who rip families apart seem to be the ones who get off more lightly.
“Because of him we are living a life sentence knowing we will never see our boys grow up, whilst he will be out of prison in just a few years and will be free to continue his life.
“We will never come to terms with how Corey and Casper were taken far too soon.
“Our only hope now is that some good comes out of their deaths through the introduction of tougher punishments for drivers who think they are above the law.
“We call on the government to honour Corey and Casper’s legacy by ensuring its proposals are made law as soon as practically possible.”
Rebecca Hearsey, specialist lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Louise and Reece, said: “We often see first-hand the devastation and heart-break 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.”
The sentences follow a heart-breaking accident at just after 2pm on February 22 in Longfellow Road, Coventry, when the youngsters, who were with their mother, were hit by a black Ford Focus driven by Brown.
Without a thought for the boys, Brown drove off before abandoning the car in nearby Hipswell Highway, but he and his passenger Gwendoline Harrison were arrested shortly afterwards.
At a previous hearing, Brown, 53, of Attwood Crescent, Wyken, Coventry, also pleaded guilty to driving the Focus while disqualified, having no insurance and driving otherwise than in accordance with his licence.
Emergency services arrived at the collision site where they found Corey with serious injuries. He was taken to Birmingham Children’s Hospital where he died from his injuries.
Casper was treated at the roadside but he passed away at the scene.
Some 40 metres from the initial impact, the Ford Focus, which had been driven by Brown, came to a halt and the driver and Harrison tried to make their escape.
Tests later revealed Brown to have exceeded the legal threshold for commencing prosecutions for driving with the presence of cocaine in his system, by more than nine times.
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