King's Lynn woman "disappointed" their case for tougher sentencing won't be reviewed
Summer Mace has been meeting with the Attorney General today, after the driver of the other car- was given a 10 and a half year sentence.
Last updated 12th Jan 2024
A woman from King's Lynn - who's mum, sister and stepdad were killed in a crash on the A47 is telling us she disappointed at their case for tougher sentencing won't be reviewed.
Summer Mace has been meeting with the Attorney General today after the driver of the other car who was going nearly 100 miles an hour- was given a 10 and a half year sentence.
Aurelijus Cielevicius, 39, from King's Lynn pleaded guilty to causing their deaths by dangerous driving, in June.
He was found to be under the influence of a "cocktail of drugs" before the collision.
"We fought as hard as we could"
Summer told us about their next steps:
"We would like to understand why our appeal has been declined while others have had theirs put through. We are urging our local MP James Wild to help us with that further on this. Whether we'll get this information, I'm unsure.
"Obviously we do not agree at all. The believe the sentence is extremely poor and insulting to us as a family. We're just looking for a better understanding into it.
"We fought as hard as we could and we're very strong in our opinions. It's been a very disappointing outcome. It just doesn't make sense to me about how some people can get their appeals through but others can't.
How did this meeting come about?
Her petition was raised in the House of Commons by James Wild, the MP for North West Norfolk, who told MPs: “Summer and her family cannot understand why the life sentence they have been dealt has not been imposed on this offender.”
He added: “Nothing will bring back Lisa Carter, Paul Carter or Jade Mace, but their families are committed to helping make changes to prevent other families from experiencing the nightmare that they have.”
Mr Tomlinson agreed to meet the family at Mr Wild’s request, and apologised for a mistake which indicated to Ms Mace that ministers did not pay close enough heed to the details of her family’s case.
In a letter explaining the reason for not granting an appeal, the Solicitor General referred to the original trial judge as “he”, when the judge was a woman.
“It was an error, it was my error, and I apologise. However, the case was carefully considered,” Mr Tomlinson told the Commons.
The Solicitor General also explained current sentencing guidelines for death by dangerous driving and commended Ms Mace and her family for their bravery.
What's the Government said?
An AGO spokesperson said:
“The Attorney General met with Summer Mace, Jason Mace and Claire Tea and passed on her condolences at the tragic deaths of their family members. She also listened to the concerns they had regarding the handling of their case”.
Background:
• If a sentence given in a Crown Court appears to be very low, or unduly lenient, anyone can ask the Law Officers to examine the sentence, within 28 days of sentencing.
• The Law Officers may then ask the Court of Appeal to look at the sentence if they are satisfied the legal test is met. The Court may decide to keep the sentence the same, increase it, or refuse the application.
Only certain types of case can be reviewed, eg:
• murder
• manslaughter
• rape
• robbery
• causing death by dangerous driving