Jason Owen, jailed for Baby P’s death, could be released in 21 months

October 28, 2009 by Shawn Douglas  
Filed under: News

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Jason Owen won his appeal yesterday to have his sentence reduced for the death of 17-month-old Baby Peter.

Jason Owen, the man convicted of causing or allowed to cause the death of Baby P, had his appeal heard and sentence reduced by the court of appeal in London yesterday. The sentence was reduced from an indeterminate sentence to a fixed six-year sentence.

Owen, a convicted arsonist and burglar and a member of the National Front, has been in prison for 289 days already which means that he could be out on supervised probation in 2011.

The court of three judges reviewed the case and found that although his inaction and indifference towards the treatment of Baby Peter was “deeply unpleasant”, the punishment didn’t match the crime.

“He displays a willingness to deceive …which is unattractive, but to translate that into a significant risk that he will himself in the future commit offences involving death or serious personal injury to the public is … simply a step too far,” said Lord Justice Hughes.

Owen had been staying at the home of Tracey Connelly, the mother of Baby Peter. The baby was considered to be “at risk”, and despite numerous visits from social workers and the police, the baby was found dead, having suffered serious injuries all over.

The charity National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) was disheartened by the reduced sentence. The charity’s chief executive Andrew Flanagan said, “We, and doubtless many others, question whether the punishment fits the crime. We fear it does not. After sentencing was announced, the NSPCC asked the attorney general to consider an appeal against the original sentence.”

“Perhaps in the light of the appeal court’s decision, she may well now want to reflect that the decision not to do so was wrong. A great responsibility is now placed on the shoulders of those who will supervise this man on his release to ensure he does not pose a risk to children or anyone else.”

Claude Knights, Director of Kidscape, told the Telegraph that he was “surprised” about the outcome and called the reduced sentence an “atrocious crime.”

“This undermines the public concern and the outcry this crime caused,” said Knights. “Any member of the public will be concerned that this goes against what should be happening in a case like this.”

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