So much for justice

[Oldbillplod]

Two teenagers who left a young police officer in a coma will walk free early from jail after a judge ruled that their sentences were "excessive".

Daniel Coffill, 23, was punched and kicked in the head by Daniel-Lance Samuels and Jack Turner because he refused to light their cannabis joint.

He lapsed into a coma and, more than 18 months after the vicious street attack, remains in a persistent vegetative state. He requires 24-hour care and is unlikely ever to walk or talk again.

Last year, Turner, 17, was jailed for nine years and 18-year-old Samuels for eight after being convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent.

However, the two thugs appealed successfully against their sentences on the grounds that they were "excessive".

In a judgment which has staggered Mr Coffill's parents and his police colleagues, both youths have had two years shaved off their terms - meaning they could walk free in less than three years.

In addition, a ruling that they should serve four years on licence on release - meaning they could be recalled to jail if they reoffend - has been quashed.

What has enraged Mr Coffill's family even more is that they were not even warned in advance of the appeal and were unable to attend - unlike the families of the teenagers who savagely beat their son.

Mr Coffill's father, printing firm owner Len Coffill, 55, said he had been left "devastated".

"My son has been given a life sentence," he said. "These thugs will be lying on a beach somewhere within a couple of years. They will come out and boast that they have killed a cop - which is effectively what they have done."

Daniel Coffill, a Metropolitan Police constable, had just finished his probationary period and was working in Lewisham, South-East London.

He was off duty and on a night out in Bromley, Kent, when he was attacked in July 2005.

Mr Coffill left a night club early with three women friends when they were approached by Samuels and Turner.

They asked them for a light for the cannabis joint. Mr Coffill refused, telling them that he didn't smoke. As the four got into their car, the youths surrounded and spat at it.

Mr Coffill got out and approached Samuels. Before he could say anything, however, he was viciously struck from the side by Turner.

The force of the blow sent him crashing to the floor. Medical experts believe he was hit several times more, possibly up to five times, as he lay helpless on the ground, and may have had a foot dragged across his face. The thugs ran off and caught a bus.

Witnesses recall them exchanging a "High Five" hand clap in celebration while Samuels boasted that the force of kicking Daniel in the head had "f***** his foot".

They were caught after being spotted on CCTV and were convicted at Croydon Crown Court last year when the judge said they had not shown an ounce of remorse.

Mr Coffill, meanwhile, remained in a coma in hospital for several months before being allowed home last year. He is cared for by his mother, 50-year-old Margaret Gardhouse, who has given up her job as an office manager.

Mrs Gardhouse has converted her sitting room in Maidstone, Kent, into a bedroom for her son.

He cannot talk, is fed through his stomach, breathes via a hole in his throat, and requires more or less constant supervision between 5.45am and 12.30am.

Mr Coffill's once fit and healthy body is so weak and emaciated that he cannot even sit in a wheelchair.

Instead, he lies helpless in bed all day - listening to radio and TV programmes while his parents pray for a miracle recovery.

His father, who has three other children, said: "I cannot understand why the judges have agreed that scum like this should be freed early.

"Daniel had everything in front of him: a career, a girlfriend and a great future. Now he is lying here, like a baby but without even a baby's ability to communicate.

"It is beyond comprehension that the judges thought that the original sentence was excessive. I am sure there are plenty of people who would think it was too light.

"So much for justice. This country seems more than ever to be weighted in favour of the perpetrators rather than the victims."

Len Coffill said he first heard the appeal was due just one hour and 15 minutes before it started - which meant that neither he nor his former wife were able to attend court.

"The defendants' parents were all there," he said. "That just sticks in the throat. We weren't even allowed to make a plea on our son's behalf. Their behaviour during the trial was bad enough. At one stage, I was threatened with a throat slitting gesture. They just didn't care."

Mrs Gardhouse said: "Any serious infection could be fatal. My life has completely changed but Daniel's life is so precarious now. He hasn't even got his dignity. He could start choking at any minute. We just have to do the best we can."

Allowing the appeals, Mrs Justice Dobbs said: "We're mindful of the devastating impact this incident has had, both on the victim and on his family. It cannot be said that this was not a nasty, vicious attack."

Turner, of Eltham, South-East London, had his nine year term reduced to seven years by the Court of Appeal while Samuels, of Bromley, had his cut to six.

It is thought the sentences were reduced because of the age of the defendants - who were both under 18 at the time of the attack - and the fact that they had relatively good backgrounds.

Peter Smyth, the Metropolitan Police Federation's constables' leader, said: "The decision to reduce these sentences is a kick in the teeth for justice and I question what signal it sends out to other violent thugs on the streets."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1770

[Cinnamon]

I feel sick to my stomach! :mad:

[hitnrun]

Holy smokes. That's a crock of BS. That should've been a life sentence for both of them.

[LA5150]

:mad: That just pisses me off. Those idiots deserve a life-time behind bars.

[FoodStampz]

f***in CHAVS!!!

[Movementarian]

That is a travesty! The appellate judge in that case should be removed from the bench. :mad:

[Mr. Peanut]

I couldn't read the whole thing. That is a horrible miscarriage of justice, but those seem to be SOP in Jolly Old England. Why does it seem like I'm always reading some story from the UK about judges coddling some murderous thug? :mad:

[CelicaGuy]

Wow!!! Justice was not served here!! I hope those kids know what they did was wrong and change there life around. I also feel for the fallen officers' family.

Those kids should have got a life sentance for that s**t.:mad:

[Coastie 585]

Wow!!! Justice was not served here!! I hope those kids know what they did was wrong and change there life around. I also feel for the fallen officers' family.

Yeah, like that ever happens.

[ObMax1212]

I doubt they feel sorry in any way about what they did. Even if they did, they still should be locked up. The UK loves to make victims out of criminals, it seems. Those scumbags should be strung up for what they did.