Judges at the Court of Appeal in London have granted the man who murdered boxer Tyson Fury’s cousin permission to appeal against the sentence, as they said it could be argued the sentence was “manifestly excessive”.
Liam O’Pray was jailed for the minimum term of 28 years for the murder of Rico Burton in Altrincham in August 2022
The court was told how Rico was an innocent bystander after O’Pray was refused entry and became aggressive and threatened door staff with violence and was ejected from the bar’s outdoor premises.
O’Pray and his friend continued to be aggressive to groups of people gathered outside the bar.
“Rico Burton stood passively next to a male who throws a punch at one of O’Prays acquaintances, because of this the two groups come together, and a fight erupted. During the disturbance Rico Burton was doing nothing when O’Pray ran towards him and in one movement lunged with a knife and stabs him in the neck.
Mrs Justice Stacey, sitting with Lord Justice Edis and Judge Usha Karu, said the judge who passed the original sentence may have failed to take “sufficient account of the age and level of maturity” of O’Pray at the time.
Nina Grahame KC, for O’Pray, said her client’s status at the time was “inadequately addressed and insufficiently reflected, and we say that is a very crucial ground on which this application should be permitted to proceed.
“The minimum term should have been significantly less than 28 years.”
