The mum of murdered Anthony Walker today condemned a judge’s decision to cut one of his killers’ prison terms .
Violent gang member, Michael Barton, was just 17 when he murdered blameless black teenager, Anthony Walker, in a park.
Anthony, 18, was minding his own business in McGoldrick Park, Huyton , when he was ambushed and Barton’s cousin, Paul Taylor, 20, drove an ice axe through his skull.
Barton, then 17 and now 27, was handed a minimum sentence of 17 years for Anthony’s murder in July 2005.
But the Court of Appeal has now announced Barton, the half-brother of ex-Premier League footballer Joey, has won a one year reduction on his punishment.
His charity fundraising and “remarkable transformation” while behind bars had secured the deduction, the High Court in London heard.
But Gee Walker, Anthony’s mum, today said she felt “betrayed” by the ruling.
She said: “It is a big let-down. I’m very disappointed and I feel deeply betrayed.
Gee Walker on the 10th anniversary of the death of her son Anthony Walker.
“We put our trust in the judges, in the law, and then they go and do this. It’s just wrong. I will have to live with it, but what about the people who have not got a faith like me? Where does it leave them?
“This sends completely the wrong message to criminals. It tells them that if the pretend to be good they will win.
“I don’t believe what he has done in prison is anything more than pretence. I believe he is playing a game and he sees that he is winning by doing that.
“This decision to cut his minimum sentence does not make any sense and it dishonours Anthony’s memory.
“They promised me and my family that Barton would serve a minimum of eighteen years. It is not fair to make a promise like that and then come back and say they have changed their mind.
“A promise is meant to be a promise and judges should not break a solemn promise that was made to us.
“We have to live with this ordeal for the rest of our lives. It is utterly wrong.”
Barton, from Huyton, had made “exceptional progress” in jail and had changed from a “high-risk” inmate, “fighting, thieving and making a model gun out of matchsticks” to showing “maturity and excellent behaviour”, the Court of Appeal was told.
Michael Barton has made a bid to be released early
Gee, 59, decided not to attend court to hear the decision after being told “it had already been decided”.
Other family members were present, with two police officers.
Mr Justice Mitting said: “All of this material satisfies me that for the last eight years Barton has made good use of the facilities and opportunities available in the prison estate.
“His progress has been exceptional. It could not have been foreseen, except as an unlikely possibility, when he was sentenced.
“His transformation from a racist thug into a sensible, realistic young man satisfies the high threshold for a reduction in his minimum term”.
Barton now fully accepts his guilt, is “genuinely remorseful” and “understands the devastating and irreplaceable loss” which he had caused Anthony’s family, it was said.
In a moving statement last year, Gee pleaded with the court not to cut Barton’s sentence.
“Once a thug, always a thug. Prison will not change him, it will only add fuel to the fire”, she said.
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Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/