Man freed after appealing riot sentence

The Court of Appeal said it would not alter the length of the sentences of three other men, saying they had been appropriate.

Paul Williams, 45, remains in jail serving a two year and two month sentence.

He was jailed in August when he threw metal fencing and a can of beer at police after goading officers during rioting in Sunderland on 2 August.

Ozzie Cush, 20, from Reading, will continue to serve a 10 month sentence after he assaulted an emergency worker after kicking a police officer during a central London protest.

Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal changed Aminadab Temesgen’s sentence from one in prison to one in a Young Offenders’ Institution due to an error in how he had been originally sentenced. It remains the same length at 14 months.

Dame Sue Carr, the Lady Chief Justice, said that offenders who threatened the safety and wellbeing of communities by taking part in the nationwide rioting had to expect severe sentences that would not only punish them but deter others.

“There is an overwhelming obligation on sentencing courts to do what they can to ensure the protection of the public, whether in their homes or in their businesses or in the street and to protect the homes and businesses and the streets in which they live and work,” she said.

“Those who deliberately participate in disturbances of this magnitude, causing injury and damage and fear to even the most stout-hearted of citizens, and who individually commit further crimes during the course of the riots are committing aggravated crimes.

“They must be punished accordingly, and the sentences should be designed to deter others from similar criminal activity.”

She added that while offenders had to be sentenced for their individual crimes, the courts must also look at the bigger picture and the effect their actions has on speading fear among the public.