This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/apr/04/alesha-macphail-killer-launches-appeal-against-prison-sentence

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Alesha MacPhail killer launches appeal against prison sentence Alesha MacPhail killer launches appeal against prison sentence
(about 1 hour later)
The teenager who admitted raping and murdering six-year-old Alesha MacPhail has launched an appeal against his jail sentence. Aaron Campbell, the teenager who abducted, raped and murdered six-year-old Alesha MacPhail on the Isle of Bute last July, has lodged an appeal against his prison sentence.
Aaron Campbell, 16, was handed a life imprisonment term and locked up for at least 27 years after he was convicted of abducting, raping and murdering the six-year-old on the Isle of Bute last July. Campbell was sentenced last month to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 27 years after he was found guilty following a two-week trial.
The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service confirmed he had lodged the appeal on Thursday. The Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service confirmed on Thursday that Campbell had lodged a note of appeal against sentence.
Campbell was convicted last month at the high court in Glasgow, where a jury unanimously found him guilty following a nine-day trial. Campbell denied any involvement in the offences during his trial but admitted to his crimes when interviewed for psychological reports prepared ahead of his sentencing.
The teenager finally admitted his crimes in a psychological report prepared ahead of his sentencing. Sentencing, the judge Lord Matthews said that the reports “had painted a clear picture of a cold, callous, calculating, remorseless and dangerous individual”. He added that, in setting the term of 27 years, necessarily shorter than if Campbell had been an adult, it was clear to him that “reintegration or rehabilitation are remote possibilities”.
The judge in his case, Lord Matthews, said social work and psychologist reports “had painted a clear picture of a cold, callous, calculating, remorseless and dangerous individual”. During the trial, the jury heard Campbell took Alesha from her bed in the seafront flat where she was staying with her father and grandparents, using a knife to silence her, and carried the child to the nearby grounds of a disused hotel where he raped and smothered her.
He said Campbell had shown a “staggering lack of remorse” and told the teenager: “Not once did I detect a flicker of emotion from you.” Alesha, from Airdrie in North Lanarkshire, had arrived on the island a few days earlier for a three-week summer break.
Earlier this week, one of the psychologists who assessed Campbell, Dr John Marshall, called for children to be screened for psychopathic behaviour in the wake of the murder. The pathologist who examined Alesha’s body told the court the girl had sustained “catastrophic” injuries, some of which he concluded had been inflicted while she was still alive.
UK newsUK news
ScotlandScotland
newsnews
Share on FacebookShare on Facebook
Share on TwitterShare on Twitter
Share via EmailShare via Email
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn
Share on PinterestShare on Pinterest
Share on WhatsAppShare on WhatsApp
Share on MessengerShare on Messenger
Reuse this contentReuse this content