History > 2007 > UK > Justice (IV)

11.15am GMT update

Bus chip killer sent to Broadmoor

Friday December 21, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
David Batty and agencies

A man who stabbed to death a bus passenger who tried to stop him throwing chips at his girlfriend was sent to Broadmoor high security hospital today.

Anthony Joseph, 23, admitted the manslaughter of Richard Whelan, 28, after he was formally acquitted of murder when two trials failed to produce verdicts.

Whelan was stabbed seven times in the heart and torso after remonstrating with Anthony Joseph who was throwing chips at the victim's girlfriend on a London bus in July 2005.

Sentencing Joseph to a hospital order without a time limit, Mr Justice Gross said today: "The circumstances of this case are tragic indeed.

"They form the nightmare of all those who use public transport."

After the case at the Old Bailey last month, it emerged that Joseph had been mistakenly released from a young offenders' institution in Manchester only hours before the attack, after charges of abduction and unlawful sex with a 15-year-old were dropped.

Because of a separate arrest warrant, issued after Joseph failed to attend court in Liverpool four weeks before the killing on charges of burglary, he should have been retained in custody, but was instead released in error from Forest Bank young offenders' institution.

Eight hours after his release, at around 10pm on the evening of July 29, he killed Whelan in what was described by Detective Chief Inspector John Macdonald, who led the investigation, as a horrendous attack.

The government has announced an investigation into "failings" in the justice system that led to Whelan's death.

Bus chip killer sent to Broadmoor, G, 21.12.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2231115,00.html

11.45am GMT update

'Lyrical terrorist' sentenced

over extremist poetry

Thursday December 6, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Claire Truscott and agencies

A 23-year-old former Heathrow shop assistant who called herself the "lyrical terrorist" and scrawled her extremist thoughts on till receipts has been handed a nine-month suspended jail sentence.

Samina Malik became the first woman convicted under new terrorism legislation after writing poems entitled How To Behead and The Living Martyrs.

Malik, described as an "unlikely but committed" Islamic extremist, was last month convicted by an jury at the Old Bailey of a charge under the 2000 Terrorism Act.

She worked at WH Smith at Heathrow, where she scribbled her extremist lyrics on till receipts. On one she wrote: "The desire within me increases every day to go for martyrdom."

But Malik told the jury she only adopted her "lyrical terrorist" nickname because she thought it was "cool" and insisted: "I am not a terrorist."

Malik had tears in her eyes as she left the dock, while her mother wept during the court hearing. The judge said Malik's crime was on the "margins" of the offence of which she was found guilty.

He said Malik was of "good character" and from a "supportive and law-abiding family who are appalled by the trouble that you are in".

"The Terrorism Act and the restrictions it imposes on the personal freedom exists to protect this country, its interests here and abroad, its citizens, and those who visit here. Its protection embraces us all. Its restrictions apply to us all, whatever our personal religious or political beliefs."

He told Malik that if she had been convicted of the more serious charge of possessing an article for terrorist purposes - of which the jury cleared her - she would have faced a jail term.

But he said, while a custodial sentence was merited, she had already faced "extremely rigorous" bail conditions which were "tantamount to house arrest". The court heard that she also spent five months in custody after being arrested in October last year.

John Burton, defending, said the jury's verdict meant that while Malik had "no reasonable excuse" for possessing the material, she had been cleared of holding it for a terrorist purpose.

Malik's sentence was suspended for 18 months, with the condition that she be supervised for the whole period and undertake unpaid work.

Last month Malik was found guilty of possessing records likely to be useful in terrorism by a majority of 10 to one. She cried as the verdict was read. Two female jurors were also in tears. The court heard that Malik stocked a "library" of material useful to terrorists at her family home in Southall, west London.

The court was told Malik was 20 years old when she "first started to consider Islam" and was "like most teenagers, somewhat rebellious".

Malik had been interested in poetry, and had written love poems, followed by rap poems and later by "what can only be described as the distasteful poetry which has been mentioned in this trial".

Burton said: "She became hooked on Abu Hamza-type addresses and that affected her mindset." The jury was told that she joined an extremist organisation called Jihad Way, set up explicitly to spread terrorist propaganda and support for al Qaida.

Jonathan Sharp, prosecuting, told the court she visited a website linked to jailed cleric Abu Hamza and stored material about weapons. The court also heard Malik belonged to a social networking website called hi5, describing her interests as "helping the mujaheddin in any way which I can".

Under favourite TV shows, she listed: "Watching videos by my Muslim brothers in Iraq, yep the beheading ones, watching video messages by Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri and other videos which show massacres of the kaffirs."

But Muhammed Abdul Bari, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said he did not think her actions were a criminal matter. "Many young people download objectionable material from the Internet, but it seems if you are a Muslim then this could lead to criminal charges, even if you have absolutely no intention to do harm to anyone else.

"Samina's so-called poetry was certainly offensive but I don't believe this case should really have been a criminal matter. Young people may well have some silly thoughts. That should not be criminalised. It is their actions that we should be concerned about."

After her conviction, Judge Peter Beaumont, the recorder of London, told her: "You have been, in many respects, a complete enigma to me."

    'Lyrical terrorist' sentenced over extremist poetry, G, 6.12.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,2222911,00.html

10.15am GMT

Government to unveil rape law reforms

Wednesday November 28, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Louise Radnofsky and agencies

The government will today unveil new legal reforms for rape cases to try to boost conviction rates and make victims' experiences in court less harrowing.

Plans will include experts telling juries at rape trials about the psychological impact of rape, with jurors likely to hear that victims sometimes delay reporting an attack and that the majority know their rapist, the BBC reported.

The solicitor general, Vera Baird, will also announce her decision on whether to change or clarify the law on a complainant's capacity to give consent after taking drugs or alcohol, and whether adult rape victims will be allowed to give video-recorded evidence in trials.

Jury members are thought to be sceptical of victims who do not behave as they expect. Fewer than 6% of reported rapes currently result in a conviction, down from 33% in 1977.

Baird was previously dubious about briefing juries, saying that the practice could lead to defence lawyers calling in their own expert witnesses.

She was also worried about the creation of a profile of a "true rape victim", which might stop women from reporting the crime if they did not feel that the profile resembled them.

But she lashed out earlier this month at the Tory leader, David Cameron, after he made a speech pledging reforms to reverse low conviction rates, accusing him of "cynical opportunism."

Katherine Rake, the director of the Fawcett Society, the gender-equality lobby group, said that briefing juries was "necessary" but that the change would not greatly improve the conviction rate.

"These changes will not by themselves lead to a significant improvement in the conviction rate as most cases fail long before they get to court," she said. "Responses to allegations of rape need to improve across the whole criminal justice system and wholesale reform is needed to tackle the failures in the investigation and prosecution of rape cases."

    Government to unveil rape law reforms, G, 28.11.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2218310,00.html

2pm GMT

Teenage killers of young father

jailed for life

Friday November 23, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Press Association

Three teenagers who murdered a young father were detained for life today with minimum terms of 17, 16 and 13 years.

Judge David Hodson hit out at the knife-carrying culture in Britain, saying: "There's nothing macho in carrying knives; it's the mark of a coward".

The three youths, who had earlier been convicted by a jury, were sentenced at Newcastle crown court for the murder of Kevin Johnson, 22, who was stabbed outside his home in Sunderland in May.

One of the defendants was 18 at the time and the other two were 16 and 17. All three were from Sunderland.

Judge Hodson lifted an order which banned publication of the details of the two younger defendants.

Dean Curtis was jailed for life with a minimum term of 17 years. Tony Hawkes, 17, received a minimum term of 16 years, and Jordan Towers, 16, faces a minimum term of 13 years.

    Teenage killers of young father jailed for life, G, 23.11.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2216110,00.html

3.30pm GMT update

July 21 plotter jailed

Tuesday November 20, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Allegra Stratton and agencies

The man who was supposed to be the fifth July 21 bomber was sentenced today to 33 years in prison for his part in helping to plan the failed suicide attacks on London's transport network.

Ghanaian-born Manfu Asiedu was meant to have exploded his rucksack device but "lost his nerve at the last moment" and dumped it in woodland, London's Kingston crown court heard. He admitted a charge of conspiracy to cause explosions.

The attacks were attempted two weeks after four British Islamists killed 52 people in suicide bombings on three underground trains and a bus in the capital.

Four men - Muktah Said Ibrahim, Yassin Hassan Omar, Ramzi Mohammed and Hussein Osman - tried to detonate hydrogen peroxide-based bombs on July 21, but their homemade devices failed to explode and no one was killed.

They were all jailed in July for a minimum of 40 years, but a jury failed to reach a verdict against Asiedu and another man Adel Yahya. Yahya was jailed for nearly seven years earlier this month after pleading guilty to a lesser offence.

Asiedu dumped the rucksack with his device in a park in north London on the day of the failed attacks. He denied losing his nerve and said he just wanted to get rid of the bomb.

A few days after the failed attacks, he handed himself in to police and then lied to detectives on an "epic scale", he admitted in court.

During the trial, he dramatically turned on his co-conspirators, contradicting their defence that the plot was a hoax, designed as a publicity stunt, meaning he had to be seated separately from the other accused in the dock.

His lawyer said Asiedu had returned to the flat where the bombs were made to remove the hydrogen peroxide, and said his client had dismantled a booby-trapped sideboard that could have destroyed the entire apartment block.

The basis of Asiedu's guilty plea was that he had bought the hydrogen peroxide for the bombs, his lawyer said.

Yesterday, the prosecution QC, Nigel Sweeney, reminded the court that Asiedu had admitted buying all the hydrogen peroxide used in the attempted bombings.

Sweeney said Asiedu "brought some significant talents to that role".

He told the court: "His experience as a painter and decorator would help with the false cover story that it was being purchased for painting and decorating. His appearance was unlikely to raise suspicion."

Asiedu was charged under the names of Sumaila Abubakhari, also known as Manfo Kwakuasiedu, as he had used fake identities since coming to the UK in December 2003.

"He is plainly, or thinks he is, a consummate liar or deceiver - only someone who thinks that could go about false entry into the UK, adopting a false identity to remain here and go to the police taking them on in over 1,000 transcripts of interviews during which he sewed an intricate web of lies to try and avoid his guilt," said Sweeney.

"He went on to give false statements and evidence on oath."

The QC claimed Asiedu had been in telephone contact with three of the others jailed in connection with the attempted attacks, Yassin Omar, Muktar Said Ibrahim and Adel Yahya.

Asiedu lived in a one-bedroom flat which was turned into a bomb-making factory in New Southgate, north London, with some of the men now convicted in connection with the attack.

"Further, he took part in a cover-up after the bombs failed to explode both for his benefit and the benefit of his conspirators," Sweeney said.

    July 21 plotter jailed, G, 20.11.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/attackonlondon/story/0,,2213418,00.html

1pm GMT

Government appeals

ruling on indeterminate sentences

November 20 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Clare Dyer, legal editor Tuesday

The government launched an appeal today against high court rulings which could force it to free dozens of prisoners who were detained for public protection because they were considered dangerous.

Two prisoners won rulings last July that it was unlawful to hold them when they could not access courses designed to address their behaviour and help them prove they were fit for release.

Judges at the high court ordered the release of the two inmates, who are being held in prisons with no such facilities, to prepare for a Parole Board hearing, but stayed the ruling until the justice secretary, Jack Straw, had a chance to take the case to the court of appeal.

In August, Mr Justice Collins ordered that a third prisoner should be released, but the decision was again stayed until an appeal. At the time, the judge said the release of the prisoners, who were serving indeterminate sentences, was a "disastrous" result brought about by government failings.

The then home secretary, David Blunkett, brought in indeterminate sentences for public protection (IPP), in 2005. The new sentences fettered judges' discretion and forced them to sentence offenders who committed a wide range of sexual and violent crimes to indefinite terms.

But some of the crimes were petty - for instance, deliberately brushing up against someone on public transport - so many offenders were given short "tariffs", or minimum terms, before they could apply to the parole board for release.

The government grossly underestimated the number of IPP sentences judges would pass, and IPP prisoners clogged up the prisons to such an extent that they could not access the courses they needed to persuade the parole board to set them free. More than 3,000 offenders have received such sentences in just two years, fuelling the prisons overcrowding crisis.

Brett James, one of the prisoners in today's challenge, was given an IPP in 2005 when he was 19, for causing grievous bodily harm. He was ordered to serve a minimum term of one year and 295 days, which expired in July 2007.

He would then have been eligible for release if he could demonstrate to the Parole Board that he was unlikely to pose a further danger to the public. But the Doncaster prison where he is being held does not have the necessary facilities to gather the evidence or provide courses.

Mr Justice Collins said at the hearing last August: "Because of the failings of the government, a fairly large number of IPP prisoners are likely to be released if the court of appeal finds the detention is unlawful. This is very worrying."

"It must be recognised that that the consequences are truly disastrous, because I think it is inevitable that short-term lifers will have to be released whether or not they remain a risk to the public."

In the previous case, involving prisoners David Walker and Nicholas Wells, Lord Justice Laws, sitting with Mr Justice Mitting, said the justice secretary had acted unlawfully in not providing sufficient resources to enable them to prove they were no longer dangerous.

Laws said: "To the extent that the prisoner remains incarcerated after tariff expiry without any current and effective assessment of the danger he does or does not pose, his detention cannot in reason be justified. It is therefore unlawful."

The judges granted a declaration that Straw "has acted unlawfully by failing to provide for measures to enable prisoners serving IPP sentences to demonstrate to the Parole Board, by the end of their minimum term, that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public for them to be confined".

Government appeals ruling on indeterminate sentences, G, 20.11.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2007/nov/20/law.uknews

Britain's longest-serving prisoner dies

Tuesday November 20, 2007
Guardian
Duncan Campbell

Britain's longest-serving prisoner, John Straffen, who was sentenced to hang more than half a century ago, has died in prison. Straffen, aged 77, was convicted of murdering a schoolgirl in 1952 and admitted killing two others, but his death sentence was commuted because he was "feeble-minded". The Ministry of Justice said last night that Straffen had died in Frankland prison, County Durham, yesterday after an illness. He was believed to be on a list of around 20 prisoners, which includes the Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe, who were never to be released.

Straffen, who was born in Borden in Hampshire and lived briefly in India, where his father was posted in the armed forces, was living in Bath at the time of the murders and was known to police as a petty thief.

Arrested in 1951 for the murders of nine-year-old Cicely Batstone and six-year-old Brenda Goddard, he was found unfit to plead because of his mental incapacity and sent to Broadmoor high-security hospital. He admitted strangling both girls and had threatened to kill a third. He escaped for four hours, during which he was alleged to have murdered Linda Bowyer, aged five. Straffen was convicted of her murder at Winchester in July 1952 and sentenced to death. His case was reopened in 2001 after it was claimed that he was not fit to stand trial. He admitted killing Cicely and Brenda, but always denied murdering Linda Bowyer.

    Britain's longest-serving prisoner dies, G, 20.11.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2213756,00.html

10.15am GMT

George wins right to retrial

in Dando murder case

Thursday November 15, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Matthew Weaver and agencies


The court of appeal today ordered a retrial of Barry George, the man convicted of killing the TV presenter Jill Dando.
George, now 47, was sentenced to life imprisonment in July 2001 after being found guilty by a majority of 10 to one at his Old Bailey trial.

But in his second appeal against the verdict, the court ordered a retrial after hearing fresh scientific evidence that his conviction was "unsafe".

Legal argument centred on fresh doubts about evidence relating to a microscopic speck of firearm discharge residue (FDR) found in the pocket lining of George's coat, which was seized when he was arrested a year after the shooting.

The court heard evidence from scientists from the Forensic Science Service (FSS), who indicated that it might not have been clear to the jury that this evidence was "neutral" or inconclusive.

George's QC, William Clegg, told the appeal judges: "Although there was clearly other important evidence in addition to the FDR, the effect of neutralising the FDR evidence must be to render the conviction unsafe."

A report by the FSS, which was read to the court, said: "It would be just as likely that a single particle of discharge residue would have been recovered from the pocket of Mr George's coat whether or not he was the person who shot Miss Dando nearly a year previously."

George, who lived about half a mile from Dando's home in Gowan Avenue, Fulham, south west London, has always denied being her murderer.

Today's decision by the lord chief justice, Lord Phillips, Lord Justice Leveson and Mr Justice Simon, came after the Criminal Cases Review Commission referred George's back to the court of appeal.

His first challenge to his conviction was rejected by the court in July 2002.

Dando, the BBC newsreader and presenter of Crimewatch and Holiday, was shot on the steps of her home in April 1999.

More details to follow.

    George wins right to retrial in Dando murder case, G, 15.11.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/jilldando/story/0,,2211325,00.html

4pm GMT

Youths deny murdering father of three

Wednesday November 14, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Press Association

A man was kicked and punched by a gang of youths before being left for dead, a court heard today.

Garry Newlove, a father of three, had gone out of his house to remonstrate with youths who had been making life a "misery" for his family and their neighbours, Chester crown court was told.

The 47-year-old sales manager, from Warrington, Cheshire, was surrounded by the gang, who knocked him to the ground, punched him and kicked him so hard one of the youth's shoes became lodged between his body and the ground.

Four youths, two aged 17, one aged 16 and a 15-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, deny murder. Adam Swellings, 19, of Crewe, Cheshire, denies murder but has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Michael Chambers QC, prosecuting, said: "For some time, Garry Newlove's street in Warrington had been plagued by gangs of youths indulging in antisocial behaviour fuelled by cheap alcohol, causing a disturbance and vandalising parked cars.

"On Friday night, August 10, this year, Mr Newlove went out to remonstrate with a gang of youths, which included the five defendants.

"They closed around him, knocked him to the ground and punched and kicked him, causing fatal head injuries. The defendants carried on up the street leaving Mr Newlove lying in the road, unconscious, being tended by his young daughters and wife."

He said one had kicked Newlove "so hard that his training shoe came off and was found lodged under Mr Newlove's body".

Newlove remained unconscious and died of a brain haemorrhage at Warrington General Hospital two days later.

The jury, of six men and six women, will be taken to the scene of the murder, close to Newlove's family home. on Station Road North in Fearnhead.

They were told he had moved into the house with his wife Helen, 44, and daughters Zoe, 18, Danielle, 15, and 12-year-old Amy, in July 2004.

Describing Zoe Newlove's witness statement, Chambers said: "They were all kicking her father as hard as they could, all over his body, especially in his head. She will say it was like they were kicking a football.

"Her father was curled up and the group of lads were all laughing as they were kicking him."

    Youths deny murdering father of three, G, 14.11.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2210970,00.html

3pm GMT update

Childminder gets three years

for killing baby

Tuesday November 13, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Claire Truscott and agencies

A registered childminder and scout leader has been jailed for three years for killing an 11-month-old baby by violently shaking her in a fit of temper.

Keran Henderson, herself a mother-of-two, was in sole charge of baby Maeve Sheppard when she was rushed to hospital unconscious and critically ill with brain injuries in March 2005.

Henderson was found guilty of manslaughter after an emotionally charged five-week trial at Reading crown court.

Passing sentence, the judge, Mr Justice Keith, said: "Mr and Mrs Sheppard trusted you to look after Maeve.

"We do not know what really happened to make you snap in the way the jury found that you did."

The court heard that on the morning of March 2 2005, emergency services were called and rushed the baby to hospital.

Doctors fought to save her but her condition deteriorated. Her life support machine was turned off two days later after a short christening ceremony.

Medical experts for the crown told the jury that violent shaking alone could have caused Maeve's injuries.

Her neck ligaments were "overextended", indicating that her neck had snapped back and forth.

Henderson, 43, had seven years experience running her childminding business from her home at Iver Heath in Buckinghamshire.

She was hired by Maeve's parents, Ruth and Mark, in January 2005.

After Maeve's death, Henderson claimed the baby had a seizure while she was changing her nappy.

Expert witnesses for the defence said the injuries could have been days, weeks or even months old.

Henderson claimed the baby had been repeatedly ill since she was first in her care, which her parents denied.

She claimed that, on the day she died, Maeve's body had "stiffened and jerked back" as she changed her nappy, her eyes rolled back into her head, her body went floppy and she was gurgling as if something was stuck in her throat.

But the jury rejected her story, agreeing with the prosecution that Henderson violently shook Maeve, causing the child's death.

She collapsed as the verdict was read out, sobbing uncontrollably and having to be helped from the dock by a dock officer.

Her cries were audible in the courtroom as the judge adjourned the court, saying: "I don't think it is appropriate to proceed for the time being.

"I want to give her a chance to compose herself. I want her to have the opportunity to make an informed decision on whether she is to be present for the last part of the trial."

Henderson's family in the public gallery reacted angrily to the verdict.

The manslaughter sentence was a huge fall from grace for a woman who, even the prosecution conceded, was "good with children" and had devoted herself to community life.

Married to her childhood sweetheart, Iain, Henderson had moved to Iver Heath many years earlier and taken over the local beaver scout branch as leader.

She quickly increased the 1st Iver Heath scout group to include more than 40 boys. Its popularity meant she had to run two meetings in an evening to give all the boys a chance to attend.

She helped younger members of a local drama group and passed a minibus-driving test to take the scouts on trips.

Her husband told the court his wife was dedicated to working with children.

He said: "Keran's life over the past 12 years has been focused all around [upon] children.

"She is such a caring, loving person, and that love is shared around with friends and family, her precious children and those in her care."

A former Royal Parks police officer, Mr Henderson set up a carers4carers website, which has been filled with messages of support from the many children his wife had looked after and their parents.

He also wrote to the court that he and his wife were deeply concerned about the "rash and ill-advised" prosecutions of people caring for children and said he intended to campaign to raise awareness of the plight of carers falsely accused.

His wife suspended her role in all of her community activities and stopped work as a childminder not long after Maeve's death.

But she said the death had shaken her. She said: "I wasn't able to look after the children. I was basically curled up in a ball on the settee, shaking and crying, in total shock."

The court heard that Ruth Sheppard had enjoyed a good relationship with her daughter's childminder before Maeve's death.

A local nursery leader had recommended Henderson to Sheppard and the two women got on well when they first met at Henderson's home.

Henderson fought back tears as Maeve's mother described how she warmed to her daughter's childminder.

"I was quite happy with the arrangements. It was a very well-ordered house; she had a schedule and a routine, it was clean and tidy and we got on very well."

On the day that Maeve was taken to hospital with catastrophic brain injuries she comforted a "hysterical" Henderson.

"I think I gave her a hug and told her it was all going to be OK."

After the hearing, police issued a statement on behalf of Maeve's parents.

The family wrote: "Even though Keran Henderson was found guilty today, no sentence will ever bring back our daughter and we will never be able to forgive this woman for what she took away from us.

"We would like to say we feel no animosity towards Keran's husband and children. We have lost a life for life; they will have their family back together in three years.

"We carried out the relevant checks to make sure Keran was a good, trustworthy childminder and our gut instinct was to trust her. It was purely a professional relationship and if only she had told us that it was not working out between her and Maeve, then we would have our baby daughter with us today."

The Sheppards, who have two other children, said: "Now the trial has finally come to an end, we can start to think about moving on with our lives - but nothing can bring back our baby that we loved with all our hearts."

    Childminder gets three years for killing baby, G, 13.11.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2210254,00.html

Teenager jailed for life

for brutal murder of gay man

· Three savagely beat victim hunted down in park
· Group boasted of attack at party as man lay dying

Tuesday November 13, 2007
Guardian
Severin Carrell, Scotland correspondent

A man has been jailed for life and another for nine years for beating a gay man to death in a "callous and brutal" attack in a city centre park.

James Kerr, a catering worker, died in hospital after being repeatedly punched and kicked in the face and head by three people in April. They had hunted him down and attacked him for allegedly "trying it on" with one of the gang.

After leaving Kerr, 51, dying in a pool of blood in South Inch park in central Perth, the group went to a party nearby, where they boasted about the attack.

One of the gang, a 15-year-old who had claimed Kerr had assaulted him, told one partygoer: "There's a poof tried it on with me and I hit him."

As he left the scene of the attack, the teenager was heard remarking: "I hate gays and poofters."

After leaving the party two hours later, the three walked past Kerr, who was lying barely alive where they had left him, but did nothing to help.

Yesterday, the judge, Lord Macphail, said all three had taken part in an unwarranted and cold-blooded homophobic attack on Kerr.

"He had major head injuries, and the photographs of his body are horrifying," the judge said. "This was a killing of a callous and brutal character, which appears to have been marked by a homophobic element."

The trial had heard that the 15-year-old claimed to have met Kerr and another man in the park at around 2.30am, as he was taking a short cut home. After they asked him for a cigarette, Kerr's companion allegedly hit him.

Witnesses heard the youth shout at them: "If I ever see you again, I'm going to kick your fucking head in."

The teenager then admitted calling one of the accused, Martin Soutar, on his mobile phone, who then arrived at the park with another friend, David Meehan. The three then began searching for Kerr.

As all three youths looked straight ahead at the high court in Edinburgh, the judge said the most violent assailant, Meehan, 19, had launched a "savage and sustained attack upon a defenceless man who had done you no harm".

His assault was so vicious and sustained that Kerr died without recovering consciousness. Meehan later told a social worker he believed Kerr was a paedophile.

The judge sentenced Meehan, of Perth, to life imprisonment for murder, with an order that he spend at least 16 years in jail. Two years had been deducted because Meehan had pleaded guilty but the judge said this did not guarantee he would be automatically released on licence - Scotland's version of parole - within 16 years.

Soutar, 21, also of Perth, was jailed for nine years on a reduced charge of culpable homicide, an offence similar to manslaughter, after he confessed to punching Kerr to the ground, and repeatedly kicking him. He then went through the council worker's pockets, stealing his keys and cigarette lighter, which he threw into a nearby pond.

The judge said that while Soutar did not have the mental age needed to face a murder charge, he had five previous convictions, including one for assault. As a result, he would be also put on licence for a further three years after his release, putting him at risk of immediate reimprisonment if he committed a further offence.

The 15-year-old, who is too young to be named, is to be sentenced today after also pleading guilty to assaulting Kerr.

The Scottish parliament is to introduce new "hate crime" legislation bringing Scottish courts into line with those of England and Wales by allowing them to increase a sentence to take overt prejudice into account, particularly over disability and sexuality.

Patrick Harvie, the Green MSP proposing the legislation, said: "This kind of savage murder is quite rightly always going to attract a huge sentence.

"If this had been committed in England or Wales, then the court would have the option of increasing the sentence to reflect that."

    Teenager jailed for life for brutal murder of gay man, G, 13.11.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2209984,00.html

3.45pm GMT update

Man found guilty of 1975 child murder

Monday November 12, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Haroon Saddique,
James Sturcke and agencies

A comic book trader was today jailed for life with a recommendation that he serve at least 30 years after being convicted of the murder of schoolgirl Lesley Molseed more than three decades ago.

Ronald Castree, a 54-year-old former taxi driver from Shaw, in Oldham, Greater Manchester, was arrested by police last year following advances in forensic science.

Lesley was 11 when she went missing from her home in Rochdale in October 1975 after going to run an errand for her mother. Her body was found on moorland three days later.

Stefan Kiszko was wrongly convicted of her murder in 1976, and served 16 years in prison.

Kiszko was released in 1991, following a second appeal, suffering from psychological damage. He died, aged 44, of a heart attack shortly after being released, and is buried yards from Lesley's grave.

The guilty verdict came after 11 hours and 38 minutes of deliberations at Bradford crown court. It was a majority decision.

Castree shrugged his shoulders but showed little other emotion as the foreman returned the verdict. Members of Lesley's family shouted "yes" and hugged each other in the gallery.

"This was a truly dreadful crime," the judge, Mr Justice Openshaw, told Castree. "Lesley Molseed was only 11. She was vulnerable, not just because of her age but because of her learning difficulties.

"You repeatedly stabbed her. You left her for dead, drove back to Rochdale and carried on with the rest of your life as if nothing had happened. It was a pretence you kept up for 32 years. Your past has now caught up with you."

Castree got to his feet and tried to address him, crying: "My Lord," but was cut off by with the words: "No. You have had your say." He said: "I did not do it," as he was led from the dock.

Ann Kiszko, Stefan's aunt, said she felt sorry for Castree's family, who were unaware they were living with a "monster". However, she added that the man who had deprived her nephew of his freedom for much of his adult life could "rot in hell".

"Everyone who knew Stefan didn't believe he was guilty," she said. "He was well brought up, very polite and had a respectable job. He was never capable of doing something like that.

"Castree has ruined a lot of lives. The poor family of Lesley Molseed suffered 32 years before finally getting justice, while Stefan spent the best years of his life in prison."

The investigation into Lesley's death was relaunched in 2001. DNA taken from Castree had been found to be an exact match with that taken from sperm found on Lesley's clothing, the jury heard.

The court was also told how the defendant admitted abducting and sexually assaulting a nine-year-old girl within a year of the 11-year-old's death.

Lesley suffered 12 separate stab wounds in the attack, a pathologist told the jury. He said the most likely weapon was a knife around 2.5in long, adding that the blows to her chest appeared to be "targeted, not random".

Castree denied the charge, telling the jury he had no idea how his DNA had ended up at the scene of the murder.

His conviction is likely to add to the debate over whether DNA samples taken from suspects who are released without charge should be kept on the national database.

Castree was caught after his DNA was taken following his arrest in Oldham in October 2005 for what was described in court as an incident "unrelated and irrelevant" to Lesley's murder.

No details have been officially released about why he was arrested, but it is understood to have been over an allegation that he committed a serious sexual assault on a woman.

Castree was never charged with any offence in 2005 and was released. Under current legislation, despite no criminal proceedings resulting from his arrest, the police, as is routine, added his DNA to the national database.

    Man found guilty of 1975 child murder, G, 12.11.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2209803,00.html

11.30am GMT

Tennis coach jailed for molesting girl

Friday November 2, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Fred Attewill, Karen McVeigh and agencies


One of Britain's leading female tennis coaches was today jailed for two years and nine months for molesting a 13-year-old girl.

The former Wimbledon player Claire Lyte, 29, was also banned from working with children indefinitely.

Last month she was found guilty of having sexual relations with the girl between May 2005 and June 2006 while working as a coach at the Lawn Tennis Training Academy at Loughborough.

She shared a bed with the girl, wore her underwear and was caught engaging in oral sex by the girl's mother.

Liverpool crown court was told the mother caught her daughter and the coach naked in bed together in October 2005, and that Lyte, who coached the girl for 10 months, had offered to babysit.

Lyte, of Solihull, West Midlands, claimed the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was infatuated with her.

She said the child's mother had invented the allegations. But after a 14-day trial, a jury found Lyte guilty of five counts of unlawful sexual activity with a child.

Lyte once ranked among the top 500 players in the world, but turned to coaching after a wrist problem.

Within months of their meeting, it was noted that the pair were spending time together in isolated parts of the campus and in the girl's room.

They wore similar clothes and tied their hair with three bands in the same way.

The court heard that Lyte repeatedly ignored warnings not to get too close to the girl. But staff did not know the pair were spending nights together at the girl's home while her mother was away, or that they were sharing hotel rooms and visiting Lyte's flat.

Tennis coach jailed for molesting girl, G, 2.11.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2204151,00.html