Killer of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel will not have jail term increased

Solicitor General Michael Tomlinson KC said there are no legal grounds to raise the 42-year sentence handed to Thomas Cashman.

Thomas Cashman, 34, was jailed for a minimum of 42 years (Merseyside Police/PA) (PA Media)

The killer of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel will not have his 42-year jail term increased, the Solicitor General has said.

A number of requests were made for the sentence for Thomas Cashman, 34, to be increased after he was jailed for life for shooting Olivia dead at her home in Dovecot, Liverpool, on August 22 last year.

He was chasing convicted drug dealer Joseph Nee, who tried to run into the little 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.

Solicitor General Michael Tomlinson KC said: “Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s senseless murder at the hands of Thomas Cashman shocked and sickened the nation.

“Because of the strong feelings this case evokes, it was little surprise that I received several requests under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme, to consider the sentence of life imprisonment with a minimum term of 42 years that was handed down to him.

“My duty as a Law Officer in considering whether sentences may be unduly lenient is to act independently of government, even when it is not easy or popular.

“Having received detailed legal advice and considered the issues raised very carefully, I have concluded Cashman’s case cannot properly be referred to the Court of Appeal.

“Such a referral can only be made if the rigorous legal test is met, irrespective of the seriousness of the crime or the emotions the offending may evoke. The threshold for referral is a high one, and that was not met in this case.

“The test is only met if the sentencing judge made a gross error or imposed a sentence outside the range reasonably available in the circumstances of the offending.

“My thoughts remain with Olivia’s family and friends who have shown such immeasurable strength during this devastating time.”

Father-of-two Cashman, a high-level Liverpool drug dealer, has launched his own appeal against his sentence, with lawyers arguing the penalty is too harsh.