Lucy Connolly, who was jailed for 31 months for a tweet posted in the wake of the Southport murders, has failed in her attempt to be released early after the Court of Appeal refused to reduce her sentence. She now faces another two years behind bars and away from her young daughter and husband. The Telegraph has more.
Lucy Connolly, a former childminder and the wife of a Conservative councillor, was jailed in October after pleading guilty to a charge of inciting racial hatred.
Last week, the 42 year-old went to the Court of Appeal in an attempt to challenge the length of the original prison term.
Her lawyers argued Connolly had not fully understood what she was pleading guilty to, and also that the original judge had failed to give enough weight to various mitigating factors, including the welfare of her 12 year-old daughter.
But in a ruling handed down on Tuesday morning, three appeal judges rejected the application, meaning she will now not be released before August.
The judgment was handed down just moments after far-Right activist Tommy Robinson had his 18-month sentence for contempt of court reduced by four months at the High Court.
Her husband Ray said: “I am heartbroken that my wife Lucy’s appeal was not upheld by the Court of Appeal. It feels shocking and unfair. The 284 days of separation have been very hard, particularly on our 12-year-old girl.
“Lucy posted one nasty tweet when she was upset and angry about three little girls who were brutally murdered in Southport.
“She realised the tweet was wrong and deleted it within four hours. That did not mean Lucy was a ‘far-Right thug’ as Prime Minister Keir Starmer claimed.
“My wife Lucy is a good person and not a racist. As a childminder she took care of small children of African and Asian heritage; they loved Lucy as she loved them.
“My wife has paid a very high price for making a mistake and today the court has shown her no mercy.
“Lucy got more time in jail for one tweet than some paedophiles and domestic abusers get. I think the system wanted to make an example of Lucy so other people would be scared to say things about immigration. This is not the British way.
“Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood says she will release 40,000 prisoners, some of them dangerous men on tag.
“Lucy has not been allowed out on tag and she has been denied leave to see our child who is struggling.
“Today, the court had the opportunity to reduce her cruelly long and disproportionate sentence, but they refused. That feels like two-tier justice.
“We will continue to pursue every possible avenue to seek justice and to bring Lucy home to us,” he added.
Worth reading in full.
The Mail‘s report quotes the FSU and Toby:
A statement on X by the Free Speech Union (FSU), which had funded Connolly’s appeal bid, said: “This is a deeply disappointing judgment.
“No one disputes the tweet was offensive but the sentence of more than two-and-a-half years was plainly disproportionate.”
It continued: “Two-and-a-half years for a single tweet is grossly disproportionate and it should trouble anyone who believes the law must be applied evenly, without fear or favour.”
Lord Toby Young, the General Secretary of the Free Speech Union, added: “This is terribly disappointing. How can it be right for Lucy to have been condemned to spend more than two-and-a-half years in jail for a single tweet when members of grooming gangs who plead guilty to the sexual exploitation of children get lower sentences?
“Lucy should be at home with her 12 year-old daughter and husband, not rotting in jail.”
In a written judgment, Lord Justice Holroyde, said: “There is no arguable basis on which it could be said that the sentence imposed by the judge was manifestly excessive.
“The application for leave to appeal against sentence therefore fails and is refused.”
He added that the principal ground of appeal “was substantially based on a version of events put forward by the applicant which we have rejected”.
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