Nottingham boy detained for gang rivalry knife murder

Ezekiel Clarke was described by his mum as a "happy-go-lucky young man loving life"

A boy has been given a life sentence for the stabbing murder of a 17-year-old.

Ezekiel Clarke died on the evening of 19 February, in Radford, Nottingham, half an hour after he was stabbed through his liver, heart and lung.

The 16-year-old will be detained for a minimum of 13 years after a Nottingham Crown Court jury found him guilty.

Judge Timothy Spencer said the attack was to "avenge some score arising out of a petty squabble between two gangs".

Jaheim Williams, 19, was handed a seven-and-half year term in a young offenders' institution after he was found guilty of manslaughter.

Jaheim Williams was found guilty of manslaughter

The court previously heard the 16-year-old - who cannot be named - and Williams came across Ezekiel in Churchfield Lane, where the boy stabbed Ezekiel twice.

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Sentencing, Judge Spencer said he suspected "no-one can remember" the origins of the dispute.

He said: "It is as futile as it is senseless, as senseless as it is depressing."

Judge Spencer added: "If this case is symptomatic of the wider state of society then things have reached a low ebb."

In a victim impact statement, Ezekiel's mother Julie Jones said he was a "happy-go-lucky young man loving life" and his death had caused "total devastation".

She said: "No words can truly describe the impact Ezekiel's death has had on the family."

The jury also found the 16-year-old guilty of robbery and possession of a bladed article relating to the robbery of one of Ezekiel's friends.

Another 16-year-old was given an 18-month detention and training order over this robbery.