Crime
Family vows to fight killer’s reduction of jail sentence
THE family of a North-East journalist
murdered in an unprovoked
attack have reacted angrily
to news that his killer's
sentence has been reduced.
Timothy Smith, from Darlington,
was waiting at a bus stop in
Nottingham, in May last year,
when he was stabbed to death by
a youngster on a BMX bike.
His 16-year-old killer was sentenced
to 14 years in jail, but the
term has now been reduced by
two years because of good behaviour
after a second High
Court appeal.
The family received news of
the decision only days before the
first anniversary of Mr Smith's
death. "We feel outraged by this,"
said Mr Smith's brother, Chris,
42, an industrial designer from
Darlington.
"How can stabbing a man to
death in an unprovoked attack
be deemed good character? It's
plain ludicrous."
Mr Smith, 40, grew up in Darlington
and studied at Teesside
University and Darlington College
before starting his career on
the Rutland Times in the East
Midlands.
He was working as a freelance
court reporter in Nottingham,
when he was murdered on May 1.
Mr Smith was waiting at a bus
stop in the city centre when a
youth ran into him on his bike.
He was then stabbed in the
chest with a 7cm kitchen knife
and left to die.
He underwent emergency
surgery at the Queen's Medical
Centre, in the city, but died from
his injuries. His funeral was held
at West Cemetery Chapel, in
Carmel Road North, Darlington.
This week, Nottinghamshire
Police informed the Smith family
that High Court judges have
ruled that the killer's sentence
was "manifestly excessive".
Chris Smith said the family
want senior judges and politicians
to re-instate the original 14 year
sentence for the youth, who cannot
be named for legal reasons.
He said: "I thought the legal
system was supposed to be getting
tough on knife crime. Is this
their way of getting tough?"
Mr Smith said the family was
proposing to fight the decision
and wants to meet Darlington
MP Alan Milburn.
"We are serious about this. We
are not going to let it go," he said.
8:22am Saturday 3rd May 2008
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