Jail sentence given to killer driver who hit teenager to be considered again

The Solicitor General says the four years in prison given to 21-year-old Liam Wilson for causing the death of Jack Worwood, 13, “appears to be too low”.
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That means it is being passed on to the Court of Appeal to be considered once more under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme.

Makerfield MP Yvonne Fovargue wrote to the national legal experts asking for Wilson’s sentence to be checked for possible leniency at the request of Jack’s family.

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Wilson was put behind bars at Bolton Crown Court in September and was also banned from driving for five years and 10 months after he pleaded guilty to causing Jack’s death.

Liam WatsonLiam Watson
Liam Watson

The court heard Wilson, who was an unlicensed driver, hit Jack after losing control of a silver Jaguar X-Type on Old Road in Ashton on July 7.

The much-loved teenager suffered “catastrophic” injuries and died in hospital the day after the collision when his life-support machine was switched off.

Wilson was driving at almost three times the speed limit before he hit Jack, with the Jaguar travelling at 58mph in a 20mph zone shortly before reaching the bend where the driver lost control.

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One witness described Wilson’s behaviour at the wheel as “reckless and stupid” and Judge Graeme Smith said the main cause of the fatal collision was “greatly excessive speed”.

Jack WorwoodJack Worwood
Jack Worwood

He also sternly told Wilson during the court proceedings: “You should never have been driving in the first place.”

Wilson also fled the scene but was arrested the following day.

Before the sentence which is now under consideration was passed on Wilson the court heard in mitigation that he had suffered an appalling upbringing in an abusive household with a mum who was a heroin addict and also died shortly before her son was sentenced.

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Following Judge Smith’s verdict Jack’s devastated parents Andrew and Catherine Worwood approached their MP to see if anything could be done to change the sentence passed on their son’s killer.

The couple gave heartbreaking victim impact statements to the court when Wilson was put in jail, with Andrew saying: “No parent should ever have to make the decision to end their 13-year-old son’s life.”

Catherine described Jack as a “caring, kind and conscientious kid, a lovable rogue with his whole life in front of him”.

Responding to Ms Fovargue’s letter, the Solicitor General the Rt Hon Michael Ellis QC MP wrote: “I have considered this sentence carefully, and I agree that it appears to be too low. As such, I have referred it to the Court of Appeal and it is now up to the Court to consider the sentence.”