Bute Park murder: Appeals to shorten prison time refused
- Published
Dr Gary Jenkins was a "lovely, thoughtful, clever man"
Two men jailed for life for the homophobic murder of a doctor have had their sentence appeals refused.
Psychiatrist Dr Gary Jenkins, 54, was attacked in Cardiff's Bute Park on 20 July 2021, and died 16 days later.
Jason Edwards, 25 and Lee William Strickland, 36 - alongside 16-year-old Dionne Timms-Williams - were both handed minimum terms of 32 years.
The court of appeal has upheld these sentences, with a judge describing them as "justified" and "not excessive".
Homophobic attack
The consultant psychiatrist, who was described as "kind" and "compassionate", was kicked and punched to death in the park by the three.
He suffered multiple severe brain injuries and died at University Hospital of Wales.
The perpetrators also attacked a bystander who attempted to intervene and continually shouted homophobic slurs at their victim.
They ignored his pleas to stop and left him for dead in a "deliberately degrading" state, before using Dr Jenkins' own cards to buy a "celebratory drink".
Dr Jenkins was attacked near the Summerhouse cafe in Bute Park
Sentencing the three, Judge Daniel Williams said they had chosen to target gay men in Bute Park because of "sheer homophobia" and because they believed their victim would be "less likely to report the crime".
All three admitted to manslaughter, but were found guilty of murder after a trial at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court and later handed life sentences.
Edwards and Strickland were to serve a minimum term of 32 years and 123 days, and the teenager, Dionne Timms-Williams, a minimum of 17 years.
All three were also sentenced for offences of robbery and assault, to run concurrently with their life sentences.
'No hesitation'
At Cardiff Crown Court on 9 November, appeal statements were put forward on behalf of Edwards and Strickland, though neither they nor their representatives were present.
Both men claimed their minimum terms were "manifestly excessive" on the grounds that they believed insufficient weight to have been given to mitigating factors, and aggravating factors to have been "double counted".
In Strickland's case, he believed history of mental health should be considered, while Edwards cited abuse in early life and a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Strickland and Edwards appealed their minimum terms but were rejected
However, Mr Justice Martin Griffiths, Mrs Justice Alison Foster and Mr Justice Timothy Holroyde rejected both submissions "without hesitation".
Mr Griffiths stated that both men were intoxicated at the time of the offence and had more than 20 previous convictions each.
He said that "either one" of the aggravating factors of robbery and assault relating to sexual orientation would justify the minimum term, adding that further factors of "sustained ferocity", "deliberate degrading" and the attack on the bystander must also be considered.
He said the sentencing judge found that "in this case mental disability did not equal reduced culpability".
Mr Griffiths concluded: "We have no hesitation in saying that the serious and many aggravating factors justify the minimum term."