Alesha MacPhail’s Killer Has Sentence Reduced
10 September 2019, 13:20 | Updated: 10 September 2019, 13:42
The teenager who raped and murdered Alesha MacPhail on the Isle of Bute has had his minimum prison term reduced.
Aaron Campbell, who was 16 when he abducted and killed the six-year-old in July 2018, was handed a 27-year minimum sentence.
It has been announced today that his term will be reduced by three years.
In an appeal, his counsel Brian McConnachie QC told the Court of Criminal Appeal that the verdict was extreme considering Campbell’s age, who is now 17.
At the time of the original sentencing, Judge Lord Matthews said Campbell saw Alesha sleeping in her room as “a moment of opportunity” to commit a “brutal” crime which had caused “revulsion and disbelief”.
Even with the successful appeal, Aaron Campbell is serving the longest term ever given to a juvenile offender in Scotland.
At the time of the original sentencing, Judge Lord Matthews said Campbell saw Alesha sleeping in her room as “a moment of opportunity” to commit a “brutal” crime which had caused “revulsion and disbelief”.
Even with the successful appeal, Aaron Campbell is serving the longest term ever given to a juvenile offender in Scotland.
Watch above as former juvenile offender calls in to tell LBC that young people should get longer sentences.
