Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s killer will not get an extension to his jail term, the solicitor general has said.
Several requests were made to increase the 42-year sentence of Thomas Cashman, 34, after he was put behind bars for shooting Olivia dead at her home in Liverpool last August.
He had been chasing drug dealer Joseph Nee, who tried to enter the girl’s home in an effort to escape.
Cashman started shooting and hit Olivia’s mother, Cheryl Korbel, in the wrist as she tried to stop Nee coming in, with the same bullet hitting Olivia.
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.
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“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.
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“My thoughts remain with Olivia’s family and friends who have shown such immeasurable strength during this devastating time.”
Cashman, a drug dealer from Liverpool, has launched an appeal of his own, with his lawyers arguing his sentence is too harsh.
