Why a man convicted of rape at Preston Crown Court has had his sentence quashed

Several men have had their indeterminate jail sentences quashed at the Court of Appeal after spending “many years beyond” their minimum terms, the Criminal Cases Review Commission has said.

Benjamin Hibbert, Stuart O’Neill and Jay Davis were younger than 21-years-old when they were given the sentences more than 15 years ago.

Mr O’Neil was convicted of rape at Manchester Crown Court in 2009 and was sentenced at the age of 20, while Mr Davis was convicted in 2006 of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear or violence at the age of 19.

Both were sentenced under the imprisonment for public protection (IPP) scheme, which was abolished in 2012.

Mr Hibbert was sentenced under the detention for public protection (DPP) scheme, also abolished, which applied to under 18s. He was convicted of three counts of sexual assault at Preston Crown Court in 2009.

Their cases were referred by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) to the Court of Appeal in London, where their lawyers argued that the original sentencing decisions did not take into account their age and immaturity.

In a ruling on Thursday, Mr O’Neil’s sentence was replaced with one of eight years in custody and eight on licence, while Mr Davis’s sentence was replaced with one of 18 months, the CCRC said.

Mr Hibbert’s case has been deferred for a report on his appropriate sentence to be produced.

Dame Vera Baird KC, chairwoman of the CCRC, said: “I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision in all these cases. The decision to refer three of these men’s sentences followed careful and detailed reviews by the commission.”

The now-defunct IPP and DPP schemes were applied to people the court deemed to be dangerous to the public, where prisoners would have to serve a minimum term known as a tariff before being eligible for release.

At the time of their original sentencing, Mr O’Neil was given a tariff of three years and six months, Mr Davis was given a tariff of nine months and Mr Hibbert was given a tariff of two years.

Dame Vera said: “All the men were very young at the time they were sentenced and have spent many years beyond their original tariffs in custody.

“The court’s judgments reflect the importance of properly considering age and maturity when imposing sentences of this nature.”

The court also quashed the sentences of Jerry Tolbert, Jordan Webster and Dwayne McLaren, who were also young at the time of committing their offence, the CCRC said.

Dame Vera said: “We will continue to examine other IPP and DPP cases, and I encourage anyone who believes their sentence may have been affected – and who has exhausted their appeal rights – to apply to the commission.

“I hope today’s decision gives hope to the many families with loved ones who remain in prison way beyond their original tariff.”