The killer who shot and killed nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel will not have his jail term increased.
Thomas Cashman, 34, was jailed for 42 years for the murder of Olivia who was killed in her home in Dovecot, Liverpool, on August 22 last year.
Cashman had been chasing convicted drug dealer Joseph Nee, who tried to run into the little girl’s home in a bid to escape.
He opened fire, hitting Olivia’s mother Cheryl Korbel in the wrist as she tried to keep the door shut on Nee, with the same bullet killing her daughter.
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However the Solicitor General has said Cashman will not have his sentence increased - despite calls for the killer to stay in prison for longer.
Solicitor General Michael Tomlinson KC said: “Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s senseless murder at the hands of Thomas Cashman shocked and sickened the nation.
“Because of the strong feelings this case evokes, it was little surprise that I received several requests under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme, to consider the sentence of life imprisonment with a minimum term of 42 years that was handed down to him.
“My duty as a Law Officer in considering whether sentences may be unduly lenient is to act independently of government, even when it is not easy or popular.
“Having received detailed legal advice and considered the issues raised very carefully, I have concluded Cashman’s case cannot properly be referred to the Court of Appeal.
“Such a referral can only be made if the rigorous legal test is met, irrespective of the seriousness of the crime or the emotions the offending may evoke. The threshold for referral is a high one, and that was not met in this case.
“The test is only met if the sentencing judge made a gross error or imposed a sentence outside the range reasonably available in the circumstances of the offending.
“My thoughts remain with Olivia’s family and friends who have shown such immeasurable strength during this devastating time.”
Father-of-two Cashman, a high-level Liverpool drug dealer, has launched his own appeal against his sentence, with lawyers arguing the penalty is too harsh.
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