Judge called boy, 14, who stabbed a girl 10 times for rejecting him a 'bright lad' and spared him jail
Judge Ian Lawrie, who handed the 14-year-old attacker a 12-month referral order after ruling prison was the "last place" he should be, despite the boy stabbing his victim at least 10 times.Gloucester Crown Court, where judge Ian Lawrie sparked outrage by sparing the 14-year-old attacker a custodial sentence despite his victim being stabbed at least 10 times with a six-inch kitchen knife.
A mother has called it 'absolutely disgraceful' that the boy who stabbed her daughter 10 times with a six-inch kitchen knife in a Cirencester shop received nothing more than a referral order and a restraining order. The girl was 13 at the time of the March 15 attack and suffered injuries to her neck, hands and face; she now has nightmares and cannot leave home without someone accompanying her. The judge at Gloucester Crown Court described prison as the 'last place' the boy should be sent.
The mother said: 'My daughter's the one now that almost has the prison sentence — does somebody actually have to die to get justice?'
A shopkeeper who intervened bravely to pull the boy away was stabbed in the back during the attack.
The Ministry of Justice says it is reviewing 'how the law can better protect victims in the youth courts' to ensure punishment fits the offence.
