Europe, UK (Commonwealth Union) – Harley Whiteman, 20, from Hirwaun, South Wales, has had his original sentence of six years and nine months overturned and replaced with a nine-year detention after being reviewed under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
In a previous incident this year pregnant women in Leeds who was terrified by a violent burglar who received a 4 year sentence, had it extended by another 4 years to an eight year sentence following a review under this scheme.
In the court hearing that took place on February 29, 2024, Whiteman was driving in an extremely irregular manner and at high speed via Hirwaun with two friends following the consumption of alcohol and drugs.
On Brecon Road, Whiteman swerved to avoid another car, causing him to mount the kerb and hit the 13-year-old Kaylan Hippsley.
Kaylan was violently hurled into the air and, despite immediate medical attention at the site, tragically succumbed to his injuries three days later in the hospital.
Whiteman, was said to have demonstrated a complete lack of human decency, fled the scene but returned shortly after, screaming insults at those who were courageously attempting to save Kaylan’s life. Upon Whiteman’s arrest by the police, he further displayed his contempt for the law by refusing to take a breathalyzer test and engaging in vile verbal abuse towards the officers. The mix of alcohol and drugs may have severely impaired his judgement to show lack of empathy, which would have been worsened after he realized the serious nature of his actions.
The Solicitor General Sarah Sackman MP says “Harley Whiteman’s reckless actions have broken a family and stolen the life of a thirteen-year-old boy. That Whiteman fled the scene before abusing people tending to Kaylan, as well as police officers, is utterly deplorable.”
On the 30th of April, 2024, Whiteman was handed a six-year and nine-month detention sentence within a Young Offenders Institution, following a conviction for a single count of causing death by dangerous driving.
On the 24th of July, Whiteman’s original sentence was substituted and was subsequently upgraded to a nine-year detention term, following a referral to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme.
