UK AG to Review Jail Sentences of 'Evil Monsters' Who Killed 6-Year-Old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes

© Photo : Twitter / @WMPoliceA mugshot of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes' father Thomas Hughes and stepmother Emma Tustin, who were convicted of his killing
A mugshot of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes' father Thomas Hughes and stepmother Emma Tustin, who were convicted of his killing - Sputnik International, 1920, 05.12.2021
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On Friday, British couple Thomas Hughes and his partner Emma Tustin were sentenced to 21 years and life imprisonment with a minimum term of 29 years, respectively, over the torture and killing of the man's six-year-old son.
A spokesperson for the UK Attorney General's Office (AGO) has confirmed in a statement that the jail sentences of the couple, who killed six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, would be reviewed.

"The attorney general's thoughts are with those who loved Arthur. I can confirm that the sentences given to Emma Tustin and Thomas Hughes have been referred to the attorney general for review to determine whether they were too low", the statement noted.

Thirty-two-year-old Tustin, the stepmother of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 29 years, while the 29-year-old Hughes was found guilty of manslaughter and received 21 years behind bars.
Hammer court judge justice  - Sputnik International, 1920, 03.12.2021
British Couple Who Killed Six-Year-Old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes Jailed
The 6-year-old died in a British hospital from an "unsurvivable brain injury" on 16 June 2020, when he was found badly injured at his home in the town of Shirley in the UK's West Midlands. His body was found to be covered in 130 bruises.
As for the AGO's decision, it comes after Solihull MP Julian Knight announced plans to lobby for longer sentences for the "evil monsters".
"We need to get to the bottom of how this happened and we need to ensure that those who have failed him are accountable. But also, I think anyone reflecting on those sentences yesterday thinks they were too lenient. My intention is to refer this to the Unduly Lenient Sentencing scheme as soon as possible. And I will be doing that on Monday morning", Knight said in a video posted on his Twitter page.
The lawmaker was echoed by Wendy Thorogood, director of the Association of Child Protection Professionals, a UK-based anti-child abuse charity, who insisted that the murder of Arthur was a "society responsibility".
Thorogood told Times Radio that the boy should have been at the top of social services' priority list and that "you would have expected them to actually look at his history, but unfortunately they go on what they see at that moment in time".

"I can't comment on what they actually witnessed but you have to remember he was at the hands of quite cruel people who could manipulate him, his environment, and professionals. I would have expected any assessment to really take account of the grandmother's photos, I would have expected to have conversations […] with Arthur, and that appears to have been missed", the charity's director added.

She spoke as Solihull's Local Child Safeguarding Partnership opened an independent review after it was revealed in court that the boy had been seen by social workers two months before his death and they concluded that there were "no safeguarding concerns".
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, for his part, pledged that the government would "leave absolutely no stone unturned to find out exactly what went wrong in that appalling case".
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