Cheryl Korbel backs law that would force criminals to attend their sentencing
Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s mother wants to see a law that would force criminals to attend their sentencing.
It is the first time that heartbroken Cheryl has spoken out since Thomas Cashman was jailed for fatally shooting her nine-year-old daughter in Dovecot, Liverpool.
The 34-year-old also wounded her mother as he chased a fellow drug dealer into their home on the evening of August 22.
But he refused to leave his cell and face her family in Manchester Crown Court as he was jailed for 42 years earlier this week.
Grieving Cheryl told the Sunday Mirror she would support a law that would force offenders to show up for sentencing.
‘We were dragged right through that court case when we didn’t need to be. If he had owned it from the beginning, we wouldn’t have had to be there,’ she said.
‘He was in that dock right through the trial and on the last day he said “I am not going up”. It is not fair.
‘Why should we go through all that but he gets the option of not being there? It is like a kick in the teeth. He is just a coward – and that is being polite.’
Cheryl has ‘some slight comfort’ from Cashman being behind bars, but that is not enough for her.
‘He has still got a roof over his head, three square meals, access to gyms and this, that and the other,’ she added.
Olivia’s murder made national headlines, and Cashman’s refusal to face justice in court angered her family and campaigners who have been calling for the urgent implementation of such a law.
The aunt of Zara Aleena, who was raped and murdered while walking home last June, is also among those pushing for such a change.
Farah Naz told BBC Breakfast criminals should have their sentence extended if they refused to face victims or their families.
Her comments came after her niece’s murderer Jordan McSweeney also refused to attend court for sentencing.
At the time, she stressed that ‘surely the judgment is part of the punishment’ and also a deterrent for further crimes.
Justice secretary Dominic Raab was urged to fast-track such plans after Cashman’s sentencing.
He confirmed he is planning to change the law to compel ‘spineless criminals’ to face up to their actions by possibly giving judges power to impose longer terms on those who refuse to appear.
He said in a tweet on Monday: ‘Spineless criminals like Cashman who hide from their sentencing prolong the suffering of victims and their families.
‘As I have already made clear, I plan to change the law to compel offenders to face up to their actions, so victims can see the justice they deserve being served.’
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