THE DRIVER who killed Corey and Casper Platt-May while speeding and on cocaine has had his sentence increased.
Robert Brown was sentenced to nine years at Warwick Crown Court in April for causing the deaths of Corey and Casper Platt-May, aged six and two respectively – a charge to which he pleaded guilty.
An appeal was lodged to the Solicitor General’s Office for the case to be considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme (ULS).
The Court of Appeal has today increased Brown’s sentence from nine years to ten-and-a-half.
Speaking after the hearing, the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC MP, said: “This was an atrocious offence, which Corey and Casper’s family will likely never recover from.
“Brown had an overwhelming history of similar offences, and he deserved to be jailed for longer.
“This is such a tragic case, and I hope the increased sentence sends a clear message that anyone who commits such a crime will be met with the full force of the law.”
Following the original sentence, there were calls – including from Corey and Casper’s mother Louise and father Reece – for Brown to receive a life sentence.
In response to the Court of Appeals ruling, the boys’ mother, Louise , 28, said: “The events of that day and having to witness your children die in front of you is something that our family will never get over.
“We will never forgive the driver for the way he ripped our family apart.
“Life without Corey and Casper is so difficult to put into words.
“Knowing we won’t see their cheeky smile or hear their infectious laugh again is heart-breaking.
“We are pleased that the driver has been given a longer prison sentence as what our family has had to go through, and will continue to experience for the rest of our lives, highlights the need for the toughest possible sentences to be handed out to drivers who ruin lives.
“We repeat our call for the government to honour Corey and Casper’s legacy by ensuring proposals to introduce tougher sentences for drivers who kill are made law as soon as practically possible.”
Chelsea Platt-May, the boys’ aunt and the sister of Reece Platt-May who committed suicide while on holiday in Greece months after his two sons were killed, responded to the news on Facebook.
She said: “I have never been so upset, annoyed and disappointed to be called English.
“I’m ready to immigrate to America where he (Brown) would get at least the full sentence or better yet ‘life’ in prison.”
Under ULS, members of the public can ask the Solicitor General’s office to examine sentences handed down by Crown Courts in England and Wales within 28 days of sentencing.
Brown’s case has now added impetus to widespread calls for tougher sentences for those who cause death by dangerous driving.
The government’s Ministry of Justice last October announced plans to introduce life jail terms for such offenders as well as careless drivers who kill while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The current maximum sentence is 14 years.
The sentence followed a heart-breaking incident at just after 2pm on February 22 in Longfellow Road, Coventry, when the youngsters, who were with their mother, were hit by a black Ford Focus doing 61mph in a residential street.
Driver Brown drove off before abandoning the car in nearby Hipswell Highway, but he and his passenger Gwendoline Harrison were arrested shortly afterwards.
Harrison was this week released after serving only weeks in prison, prompting further outcry about the leniency of the sentences the pair received.
Emergency services arrived at the collision site where they found Corey with serious injuries. He was taken to Birmingham Children’s Hospital where he died from his injuries.
Casper was treated at the roadside but he passed away at the scene.
At a previous hearing, Brown, 53, of Attwood Crescent, Wyken, Coventry, also pleaded guilty to driving the Focus while disqualified, having no insurance and driving otherwise than in accordance with his licence.
Tests later revealed Brown to have exceeded the legal threshold for commencing prosecutions for driving with the presence of cocaine in his system, by more than nine times.
