- Target:
- The Secretary of State for Justice
- Region:
- United Kingdom
Thank you to those who supported this petition. I note, with sadness, that Charlie Gilmour's appeal against the length of his sentence has failed (The Guardian, 29th October, p. 17). I did alert his solicitor to our petition but, as we had so few signatures and public opinion seems to endorse harsh sentences for public disorder this year, it has proved to be ineffective.
Charlie Gilmour has been given a 16 month jail sentence for his actions during student protests, despite not having actually hurt anyone. The sentence seems unnecessarily harsh and is likely to cause further serious psychological hurt to a young man already struggling with difficult personal issues.
Charlie Gilmour has apologised for his actions but appears to be a scapegoat for those members of the establishment who feel outraged by his disrespect for national icons such as the Prince of Wales and the Cenotaph.
A much lighter sentence would seem to be more appropriate in this case.
We the undersigned call on the Secretary of State for Justice to initiate a review of the unnecessarily harsh sentence handed down to Charlie Gilmour on 15th July 2011.
The Support Charlie Gilmour petition to The Secretary of State for Justice was written by Karen Fill and is in the category Justice at GoPetition.