Here at Swain & Co. we were not surprised to hear the Liam Stacey had lodged an appeal to his 56 day imprisonment sentence. The sentence appeared harsh and highly led by the publicity that surrounds this case.
District Judge John Charles had stated when sentencing, that “at the moment not just the footballer’s family, not just the footballing world, but the whole world was literally praying for his (Fabrice Muamba’s) life, your comments aggravated this situation. I have no choice but to impose an immediate custodial sentence to reflect the public outrage at what you have done.”
Specialist crime defence lawyer, Umar Khan goes on to say “the sentence, in my opinion, was harsh and heavily weighted by the publicity of this case”.
If we were acting for Stacey, we too would have lodged the appeal based on multiple factors, such as:
- Stacey had admitted guilt at the first opportunity
- He was genuinely remorseful
- He had no previous convictions
- The case had attracted a great deal of publicity
- He was very drunk when he did it and people do stupid things in those circumstances.
The appeal has been dismissed, as Swansea Crown Court judged that the sentence justified as the language was highly offensive and had racial content. Plus, he had admitted specific intent to cause offence.
Umar goes on to explain that “unfortunately, he has exhausted his appeals in the Magistrates, and may now have hit a brick wall of where to go next.”
If you need, or have a loved one who needs, criminal defence call Umar Khan and the Crime team on 02392 483322 (Havant/Southampton), or call our team at Southampton on 02380 631111.
Or if your friend or family member is in prison we can help too. We have a specialist teams for Prison Law at all our branches:
02392 483322 (Havant/Portsmouth)
02380 631111 (Southampton)
0208 6929100 (London)
0151 2552286 (Liverpool)
