Justice for Josh Morgan: Anger as loophole means thugs' sentences cannot be reviewed

More than 4,000 people have called for longer prison sentences to be handed to amateur boxers James Robb and Alistair Douglas who will spend just a few months behind bars despite Josh being left brain damaged and immobile.

In a series of injustices, it has now emerged the pair's prison sentences cannot be reviewed because they were only charged with grievous bodily harm.

The law currently only allows certain sentences to be appealed for being 'unduly lenient'.

A spokesperson for the Attorney General's office, which is tasked with reviewing appealed 'unduly lenient' sentences, today confirmed: "In this case, the offence for which the defendants were sentenced is not one that falls within the Unduly Lenient Sentencing scheme.

"Therefore the Law Officers have no power to refer this sentence to the Court of Appeal."

It provoked Cannock Chase Council leader councillor George Adamson to say: "The law is an ass and has to change. The punishment has to fit the crime regardless of what it is.

"This is a most dreadful case of injustice.

"I support any attempts to get the law changed so this cannot happen again."

Robb, 23, was given a three-year prison sentence for the attack while Douglas, 26, was sentenced to 27 months in jail.

But both will only serve nine and two months behind bars respectively because of the amount of time they spent electronically tagged.

Residents in Cannock have been left outraged.

Prosecutors initially charged Robb and Douglas, both of Cannock, with grievous bodily harm with intent which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

But it was later downgraded to just grievous bodily harm, which they both admitted, which only carries a maximum of five years.

They said medical reports could only prove one punch even though Robb later admitted to striking him twice on a night out in Cannock in March last year.

Josh was hit so hard it knocked him out and he could not break his fall.

He can now only communicate by moving his head, hand movements, and trying to pronounce words.

More than 4,000 people have signed an online petition calling for longer prison sentences for the pair and the Express & Star has launched its Justice for Josh campaign to raise awareness of this shocking case.

Cannock Chase MP Amanda Milling has written to the Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Michael Gove to review the sentences.

She said: "Currently there is no appeal procedure in law for 'unduly lenient' sentences of grievously bodily harm without intent.

"The law is a complex thing and there can be no simple fixes to address the hardship and difficulty experienced by victims and any public perception of the sentences handed down.

"I believe that a mechanism for balancing the impact on the victim and the public perception of the sentence should be explored."

The Attorney General can review very low sentences given by the Crown Court in England and Wales if he is asked to with 28 days of the court case.

But only certain types of case can be reviewed, including: murder, rape, robbery, some child sex crimes, child cruelty, some serious fraud, some serious drug crimes, and crimes committed because of the victim's race or religion.

Also sentences for grievous bodily harm with intent can also be reviewed.

Councillor Adamson has launched a review of CCTV cameras in Cannock town centre following the attack.

Because of a lack of CCTV footage and the fact Josh, then aged 20, was in a coma and unable to speak, police were never able to piece together a full picture of what happened.

You can back the Justice for Josh campaign by signing the online petition at www.change.org