Damilola pair lose sentence appeal

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Three judges at the Court of Appeal in London rejected argument that the sentences imposed on Danny Preddie, 18, and Ricky Preddie, 19, of Peckham, south London, who were aged 12 and 13 at the time of the killing, were too long.

The pair, who were convicted of manslaughter at the Old Bailey last year, were present in the dock of the court for the ruling.

Lord Justice Latham said the courts had to send out the message that "violence of this sort will be punished severely and that will be the case even where the offenders are young".

The courts needed to "impose sentences which have a significant element of deterrence".

He added: "There is no other way that the courts can reflect the need to ensure the streets of this country are as safe as possible."

Earlier, the same judges threw out an application by Danny Preddie to be allowed to challenge his "unsafe" conviction.

The pair, who lived near Damilola on the North Peckham estate in south London, had denied killing the 10-year-old by jabbing his leg with a broken beer bottle in November 2000, but were convicted by a jury in August last year after a retrial.