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No Brandon killer sentence appeal No Brandon killer sentence appeal
(about 1 hour later)
Prosecutors have decided not to appeal against the sentence given to the man who killed Dundee toddler Brandon Muir. Prosecutors will not appeal against the 10-year jail sentence handed to the man convicted of killing Brandon Muir.
Robert Cunningham, 23, was jailed for 10 years after being found guilty of culpable homicide in March. The toddler died from a ruptured intestine following an assault by Robert Cunningham at the Dundee flat he shared with Heather Boyd.
The Crown Office said they had concluded that an appeal against the sentence would not succeed. Cunningham was jailed for 10 years after a jury a found him guilty of culpable homicide.
Legal representatives for Robert Cunningham announced earlier this year that he was intending to appeal against his conviction. The sentence prompted anger from the toddler's relatives who said it was not long enough.
Toddler Brandon Muir died in Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, on 16 March 2008 after being hit so hard that his intestine burst. The Crown Office said the sentence imposed was within the range available to the judge, and it would not be proceeding with an appeal.
When the 23-month-old's body was examined after his death, he was found to have suffered at least 40 injuries. Brandon's post-mortem examination report noted up to 40 injuries including bruises, scratches and four fractured ribs.
His mother, Heather Boyd, had been charged with culpable homicide by failing to get Brandon medical help after he was attacked by Cunningham. She was cleared of the charges against her. 'Careful consideration'
The jury at the High Court in Glasgow agreed with prosecutors that he applied pressure to the child's abdomen "by means unknown" which led to his organ damage and death in the early hours of 16 March last year.
The toddler's grandmother Veronica Boyd, 43, said that Cunningham's 10-year jail term was not enough for the "devastation" he had caused the family.
Speaking after he was sentenced in March she said: "It's not enough. He has stolen and taken our grandson from us.
"He has caused total devastation to both sides of Brandon Muir's family."
The case sparked a review of child protection services at Dundee City Council as it emerged that social workers had been alerted to concerns over Brandon by family members and neighbours.
A Crown Office spokesman said: "Following full and careful consideration as to whether an appeal should be lodged in this case, Crown counsel reached a decision that the sentence imposed was within the range available to the judge in the exercise of his discretion and that any appeal would not therefore succeed."