A child-killer will not see his 42-year jail term extended, it has been announced.
Thomas Cashman, 34, was found guilty of murdering nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel last month but it has been decided that he will the sentence issued will remain the same, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Olivia died after being shot in her own home by Cashman in Dovecot last summer but the Attorney General's office received requests from members of the public who thought the jail term was not long enough.
The matter was hoped to be referred to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme but in a statement today, the Solicitor General of the United Kingdom, Michael Tomlinson KC, said the case would not be considered for an appeal.
Mr Tomlinson KC said: “Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s senseless murder at the hands of Thomas Cashman shocked and sickened the nation.
“Because of the strong feelings this case evokes, it was little surprise that I received several requests under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme, to consider the sentence of life imprisonment with a minimum term of 42 years that was handed down to him.
“My duty as a Law Officer in considering whether sentences may be unduly lenient is to act independently of government, even when it is not easy or popular.
“Having received detailed legal advice and considered the issues raised very carefully, I have concluded Cashman’s case cannot properly be referred to the Court of Appeal."
The KC added that such an appeal can only be made if the "rigorous legal test is met, irrespective of the seriousness of the crime or the emotions the offending may evoke."
He said the threshold for referral is "a high one and that was not met in this case."
Mr Tomlinson said: “The test is only met if the sentencing judge made a gross error or imposed a sentence outside the range reasonably available in the circumstances of the offending.
“My thoughts remain with Olivia’s family and friends who have shown such immeasurable strength during this devastating time.”
The trial heard how Cashman "lay in wait" with two guns to attack another drug dealer Joseph Nee, 36, on August 22, 2022.
Nee fled and ran towards Olivia's home just as her mother had went out to see what the noise was.
Cashman followed and continued shooting and a bullet went through the door and Ms Korbel's hand, before hitting Olivia in the chest, causing a fatal injury
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