A man convicted of rape in Wythenshawe back in 2009 has had his indefinite jail sentence quashed by the Court of Appeal
Stuart O’Neill was convicted of rape at Manchester Crown Court in October 2009. He was sentenced to IPP with a minimum term of three years and six months.
He applied for leave to appeal his sentence, but it was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in March 2010. He was aged 20 when he was sentenced.
Stuart O’Neill along with Benjamin Hibbert, and Jay Davis – were all convicted as young men more than 15 years ago and have remained in custody since then, despite none having been given a tariff of more than three and a half years.
The sentences of Mr O’Neill and Mr Davis were quashed today, with the court adjourning Mr Hibbert’s case for further reports relating to the appropriate sentence to be substituted.
The Court of Appeal also quashed the sentences of Jerry Tolbert, Jordan Webster and Dawayne McLaren.
In all the cases it had been argued that the original sentencing decisions did not take into account their age and immaturity.
Stuart O’Neill’s sentence will be replaced with one of eight years in custody and eight on licence.
CCRC Chair Dame Vera Baird said: “I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision in all these cases. The decision to refer three of these men’s sentences followed careful and detailed reviews by the Commission.
“All the men were very young at the time they were sentenced and have spent many years beyond their original tariffs in custody. The Court’s judgments reflect the importance of properly considering age and maturity when imposing sentences of this nature.
“We will continue to examine other IPP and DPP cases, and I encourage anyone who believes their sentence may have been affected—and who has exhausted their appeal rights—to apply to the Commission.
“I hope today’s decision gives hope to the many families with loved ones who remain in prison way beyond their original tariff.”
The CCRC is currently looking at more than 150 IPP/ DPP cases.
