Men whose brutal murder attempt left victim with life-changing injuries given lighter sentences due to age

Three young men who carried out a brutal murder attempt which left their victim with life-changing injuries have been handed lighter prison sentences due to their age.

Kieran Maule, 24, Dylan Patrick, 22, and Aaron Henderson, 20, attacked a 53-year-old man in Hunter Square, near to Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, in October 2020.

The victim was pushed, punched and kicked to the ground. The attackers then repeatedly stamped on his head and body, leaving him unconscious.

Lord Arthurson told the High Court in Edinburgh that the trio left the scene together “strolling up the high street” and paid “no heed to the scene of physical carnage” left behind by their attack.

The victim was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where he was placed in an induced coma.

The judge said: “Without this intervention to maintain his respiratory function, he would have died.”

The man suffered a significant brain injury and spent almost a month in intensive care.

He was then transferred to Astley Ainslie Hospital in January 2021 with injuries including cognitive impairment, spastic paralysis of his left upper and lower limbs, impaired swallowing requiring the use of a feeding tube, and nerve pain requiring high doses of medication.

The victim remained in hospital for three months and has been left with memory loss, left-sided weakness, enduring pain and discomfort, and gave evidence during court proceedings from a wheelchair that he uses for mobility outdoors.

Lord Arthurson said: “There is no prospect of further improvement in his functioning ability.

“The medical and indeed social and employment consequences for your victim attributable to your murderous and concerted attack upon him can only be described as life-changing and of the utmost gravity.”

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The trio were convicted of attempted murder, assault to severe injury, permanent disfigurement, permanent impairment and danger of life.

The defence lawyers urged Lord Arthurson to take into account their age.

New guidelines for sentencing under-25s came into effect in Scotland in January 2022.

The Scottish Sentencing Council recommended a more “individualistic approach” to take account of the perpetrator’s life experiences.

The changes were made to help reduce reoffending by focusing on rehabilitation rather than punishment.

In a court case earlier this month, Sean Hogg was spared jail for raping a 13-year-old schoolgirl when he was 17.

Sentencing judge Lord Lake said he had considered the guidelines and concluded that imprisonment would not contribute to the now 21-year-old’s rehabilitation.

Rape Crisis Scotland branded the sentence “worryingly lenient”.

On Tuesday, Maule, who was 21 at the time of the offence, and Henderson, who was 18, were both sentenced to five-and-a-half years behind bars. Lord Arthurson said the jail term was discounted from seven-and-a-half years due to the timing of their guilty pleas.

Dad-of-one Patrick, who was 20 at the time of the attack, was found guilty following a trial so received no discount to his seven-and-a-half year sentence. He was also convicted of assaulting another complainer.

Lord Arthurson said the trio would have been facing around a decade behind bars had it not been for the guidelines over their age.

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