Olivia Pratt-Korbel's mum joins calls for offenders to face sentencing in person
It comes as we've launched a campaign calling for a change to the law
The mum of Olivia Pratt-Korbel who was shot dead in Liverpool last summer has joined calls for offenders to be forced to face sentencing in person.
It's after Thomas Cashman refused to attend court when he was handed a 42-year sentence for killing the nine year-old in August 2022.
It comes as we've launched a campaign also calling for criminals to be forced to 'Face the Families' in court for sentencing.
We're launching a petition to urge ministers to change the law so court officals have more power to ensure offenders are present.
Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, Cheryl Korbel said she would “support a law that would force criminals to show up for sentencing.
“Why should we go through all that and then he gets the option of not being there? It’s like a kick in the teeth,” Ms Korbel said.
“He was in that dock right through the trial and on the last day he said ‘I’m not going up’. It’s not fair.”
It comes in the wake of several high-profile cases in which offenders failed to appear in court to hear victim impact statements and sentencing.
Farah Naz, the aunt of murdered law graduate Zara Aleena and Lisa Squire, whose 21-year-old daughter was raped and murdered in 2019, have among others pushing for the law change.
“We were dragged right through that court case when we didn’t need to be. If he’d owned it from the beginning, we wouldn’t have had to be there,” Ms Korbel said.
“He’s just a coward – and that’s being polite. I’ve got some slight comfort from him being behind bars. But he’s still got a roof over his head, three square meals, access to gyms and this, that and the other.”
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab has said he is planning to change the law to “compel” the “spineless criminals” to face up to their actions by possibly giving judges power to impose longer terms on those who refuse to appear.