We covered the case of Richard Ford who got an extremely lengthy sentence of 45 years for 10 offences of threats to kill. The twist was that he himself had asked to never be released from prison as he considered himself to be dangerous.
At the time we said that “we would expect this sentence to be appealed and to be reduced, by some margin.” And so, on 27th March 2018, it proved to be.
The Court of Appeal said that “Plainly, such an overall sentence is entirely disproportionate to the offences which he has committed and cannot be upheld“.
The appeal was allowed and reduced to an extended sentence of 12 years imprisonment with an 8 year extension period. He will be able to apply for Parole.
At twice the maximum sentence for Threats to kill, this is still a stiff sentence, although a much more reasonable one.
The judgement has not been published yet, but we will have a look at it again when it is out.