A man who murdered his wife with a Samurai sword and showed no remorse for years before entering a late guilty plea has had his life sentence backdated by three years.
The sentencing judge had refused to backdate William Eagers' sentence to the date he entered custody, as she considered the distress caused to the victim's family and the "very late" plea as aggravating factors.
However at the Court of Appeal today, Mr Justice George Birmingham said that, in recognition of his guilty plea, Eagers (63) was entitled to have his life sentence backdated to take into account the three years he spent in custody before he was jailed.
