Looks promising

man whose driving caused the deaths of two cyclists, 20 years apart, should be jailed and banned from driving for life, according to the Crown Office.

Gary McCourt was banned from driving for five years after being found guilty of causing the death of Audrey Fyfe, 75, in Edinburgh in August 2011.

He was also sentenced to carry out 300 hours of community service.

McCourt, 49, was jailed for causing another cyclist’s death in 1985.

At the Appeal Court in Edinburgh the solicitor general argued that the trial sheriff should have imposed a custodial sentence and a lifetime driving ban given that he had caused another cyclist’s death.

Judges have retired to produce a written statement.

BBC News

I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Two deaths 20 years apart and he only gets a 5 yr ban?
WTF?

but he did only clip the wheel of the second person that he killed. 🙄

The original sentence was met with revulsion on this forum and everywhere else, hopefully it will be addressed today

Not today. It’ll be a Written Judgement and that could take weeks.

Yep, back in May some of us wrote to the Lord Advocate via CTC to request the sentence be reconsidered. 6,000 people wrote.

end of may the sentence was appealed.

Today CTC and the Fyfe family were notified that the Crown Counsel in Edinburgh has appealed McCourt’s sentence. The family are delighted that the Crown Counsel made the right decision and are overwhelmed by the level of support shown by the public.

Only a handful of sentences are appealed in Scotland each year. Thank you for helping make this one of them.

Your email to the Lord Advocate was one of 6010 that were sent in support of an appeal. This enormous response has never been seen before by CTC and we believe contributed significantly to the Crown Counsel’s decision. Thank you so much for your support.

The appeal has now been sent to the High Court of the Justiciary who will receive a report from Sheriff James Scott within the next 8 weeks explaining why he thought 300 hours of community service and a five year driving ban was an appropriate sentence for a double-killer driver. The High Court will make their decision whether the sentence should be changed or not in the autumn. CTC and the Fyfe family hope McCourt is given a lifetime driving ban. We will keep you updated on the High Court’s decision.

This case clearly demonstrates the need to maintain pressure on the legal system to take bad driving seriously in order to protect the lives of vulnerable road users.

Today’s result coincides with preparations for the launch of a national campaign from CTC called ‘Road Justice’ to continue campaigning for a more appropriate and effective response to bad driving. Go to http://www.roadjustice.org.uk to find out more.

Email today from CTC following up the appeal case, some interesting points below, pretty much covered the comments made in the thread on here at the time:

The appeal hearing

At yesterday’s hearing, the Solicitor General for Scotland, Ms Lesley Thomson, argued that the sentence imposed by Sheriff Scott was unduly lenient. It was argued that the sheriff did not give sufficient weight to McCourt’s previous conviction for killing George Dalgity.

It was also argued that Sheriff Scott’s conclusion that Mrs Fyfe’s death was caused by McCourt’s momentary lapse of concentration was erroneous as McCourt had in fact not looked when he made the fatal manouvre and, therefore, the degree of culpability apportioned to him should have been greater.

Finally, the Solicitor General argued that Sheriff Scott should not have considered the fact that Mrs Fyfe was not wearing a helmet at the time of the collision to be mitigatory as he did not have sufficient knowledge to support the inference that a helmet would have saved her life.

Ms Thomson argued that the starting point for sentencing should have been 8 months imprisonment. The Crown also said McCourt should be given a life-time driving ban. The Fyfe family do not want to see McCourt sent to prison, but want him to be banned from driving for life. Only then can he be prevented from injuring or killing any other road users.

A lifetime ban would be a watershed, it should be automatic for anyone convicted of causing death by dangerous driving and the penalties for ignoring it should be equally severe – driving is a privilege not a right.

Thanks for posting that Stoner.

The solicitor general is my next door neighbour!

driving is a privilege not a right.

+1

Worst part of the whole debacle is that the victim was effectively accused of causing her own death by not wearing a helmet. The actions of the driver were of no importance!

Shall we say someone who is shot is at fault for not wearing a bullet proof vest?