The evil thug who killed nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel has been refused the right to appeal his sentence. Thomas Cashman had hoped to have his jail term for slaying the schoolgirl slashed.
In July his first appeal bid was rejected without a hearing. He launched another, moaning he would be in his 70s by the time he would be allowed out of prison over the August 2022 killing.
And today, his second appeal bid was thrown out at a Court of Appeal hearing in London. John Cooper KC claimed "aggravating features" were too "heavily relied" on when trial judge Mrs Justice Yip passed sentence.
But appeal judges Dame Victoria Sharp, Mrs Justice McGowan and Mr Justice Chamberlain dismissed the bid, which would have seen him challenging his 42-year minimum jail term.
The 35-year-old was given a mandatory life sentence after being found guilty of murdering little Olivia at her home in Dovecot, Liverpool. The Mirror reportstwisted Cashman is also hoping to appeal his conviction.
John Cooper KC, defending, said after today’s hearing, that an application to appeal had been submitted. A court official and a lawyer representing Cashman said an appeal against conviction had been lodged.
The application has yet to be considered by a judge and no hearing is fixed. Olivia was shot as Cashman, of Liverpool, chased convicted drug dealer Joseph Nee, who tried to run into the girl’s home in a bid to escape.
Cashman opened fire, hitting Olivia’s mother Cheryl Korbel in the wrist as she tried to keep the door shut on Nee, with the same bullet killing her daughter.
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Mr Cooper argued that the "planning" of the crime was given "too much emphasis" by Mrs Justice Yip. He also said the trial judge had not placed enough emphasis on the age Cashman would be when eligible for release.
And he told appeal judges that there had been an "over emphasis" on Cashman’s "lack of remorse". The defence barrister added that beyond the statutory 30-year sentence for crimes of this nature, the additional 12 years was excessive.
He said the intended murder of Nee was not excessively planned, that mitigation in the initial trial was not fully taken into account and that Cashman would be well into his 70s by the time he could be freed on licence.
He also argued that little Olivia was not the intended target. But Dame Victoria Sharp, Mrs Justice McGowan and Mr Justice Chamberlain threw his application out.
Dame Victoria said: “"ou cannot sensibly argue that the sentencing was excessive. The sentence imposed by the judge was a long one and means (Cashman) will be well into his 70s before he can be released on licence. But that is a consequence of his actions.
"He invaded the home of a family. He then murdered, by shooting, Olivia Pratt-Korbel, a little girl of nine, and seriously injured her mother." She said her family has been left with a "lifelong" sentence of loss.
"There was no remorse," Dame Victoria added. "The application for leave to appeal sentence is refused." Cashman, who refused to appear at his sentencing hearing earlier this year, was also convicted of the attempted murder of Nee.
And he was also convicted of the wounding of Cheryl Korbel with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm and two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, namely a 9mm calibre self-loading pistol and a 0.3 calibre revolver.
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