- Jack Woodley: Teens sentenced for gang attack murder BBC
- Jack Woodley murder: Nine teens lodge appeals against conviction The Northern Echo
- Nine teens found guilty of murdering Jack Woodley launch bid to appeal murder convictions Teesside Live
- Jack Woodley stabbing: Nine teens submit appeals against murder convictions Chronicle Live
- View Full coverage on Google News

Ten teenagers who murdered an 18-year-old man in a gang attack
have been sentenced.
Jack Woodley, 18, died
from a single stab wound during an 80-second attack in which he was punched,
kicked and stamped upon by 10 youths.
All 10, now aged
between 15 and 18, were convicted of murder and sentenced to life with minimum
terms of between eight and 17 years.
Nine of them
have launched appeals against their
convictions.
A murder trial heard
Mr Woodley, from Sunderland, had attended the final night of the Houghton Feast
funfair in Houghton-le-Spring on 16 October.
Whilst there, he came
to the attention of a group of youths who prosecutors said were intent on
attacking someone.
He refused when they
challenged him to a fight but they followed him out of the fair accompanied by
about 30 to 40 youths.
As Mr Woodley neared
the Britannia Inn, a 16-year-old boy ran up and punched him from behind
triggering a melee during which a 15-year-old boy fatally stabbed Mr Woodley in
the back.
The judge Rodney
Jameson QC said each youth, none of whom can be identified, was responsible for
Mr Woodley’s death but their involvement varied.
He said any of the
youths had the opportunity to withdraw from the attack but the “mob
mentality took over and it cost Jack his life”, although he said not all
of them “intended to kill”.
The judge said Mr
Woodley was “standing on the threshold of his adult life” having got
keys to his new home that day and was due to start a a new job the following
Monday.
“He had much to
look forward to and must have been full hopes for the future,” he said,
adding: “None of those hopes will now be fulfilled.”
He said the feast was
seen as an “opportunity” by some young people to fight over
“trivial rivalries” between neighbouring communities and Mr Woodley
was marked by the attackers as being a “townie”.
Jack Woodley died in
hospital a day after being attacked near the Britannia Inn in Houghton-le-Spring
He said Mr Woodley had
“done nothing at all wrong at any time” before the attack while some
of the youths at least had gone “intending to become involved in
violence”.
The minimum terms each
youth must serve before they can be considered for parole were:
- The 15-year-old with the blade
who had moved to the North East to escape a city’s gang and knife culture
to serve at least 17 years
- The
16-year-old boy who launched the attack must serve at least 13 years six
months
- A
17-year-old who was part of the group who went with the boy to get his
knife shortly before the attack to serve at least 15 years
- An
18-year-old, who was 17 at the time and also part of the group who got the
knife but deemed by the judge not to be “particularly bright or an
obvious leader”, to serve at least 15 years
- The
youngest defendant who was 14 at the time and now 15, to serve eight years
as the judge said his youth and low IQ meant he was “not as much to
blame as most of the others in the dock”
- A
15-year-old who was 14 at the time who exchanged friendly “fist
bumps” with the victim before the attack and shouted “get the
chopper out” to serve at least 13 years
- A
15-year-old who was 14 at the time to serve at least 10 years as the judge
said he was a “fighter” with a history of violent behaviour but
a low IQ meaning he was “easily led”
- A
16-year-old who was 15 at the time to serve at least 11 years after the
judge said he was seen for a couple of seconds on mobile phone footage
moving towards the brawl with his head concealed by a hood or balaclava,
although the youth was not named by any witnesses and did not give any
account to police or the court
- A
16-year-old who was 15 at the time who told the court he grappled Mr
Woodley but he had not realised it was the victim and he was trying to
stop the attack must serve at least 11 years
- An
18-year-old who was 17 at the time who the judge said it was a
“crying shame” had got “caught up” in the trouble
having overcome a low IQ and ADHD to get a job where he was well-regarded
must serve at least 11 years
The judge said while
it may seem “unfair” the youths could be released from prison at a
relatively young age, the loss of Mr Woodley had to be balanced against each
defendant’s age, individual circumstances, actual involvement in the killing
and chances of rehabilitation.
He said no sentence
could compensate Mr Woodley’s family for their “permanent and
irreversible” loss and it was “not a measure of the worth” of
his life which was “beyond calculation”.
Even once they are
deemed suitable for release by a parole board, each boy would remain on licence
for the rest of their life, the judge added.
IMAGE SOURCE,CROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE
Image caption,
One of the 10
defendants admitted stabbing Jack Woodley with a 9in (25cm) knife
Though each
defendant’s actions varied, the judge said there were common features in each
of their case, including:
- It was a group attack and Mr
Woodley had no chance of defending himself
- There
was premeditation although some of that was “brief” for some of
the youths
- They
attacked “solely for the excitement and pleasure” of inflicting
at least really serious injury on a randomly selected and entirely
innocent stranger”
- Each
boy knew there was a knife and by joining in encouraged its use
- The
violence aside from the stabbing was “appalling” with multiple
punches, kicks and stamps.
- It
was committed in public “to the horror” of onlookers
- All
attempts to stop the youths were ignored or met with other violence.
- None
of them attempted to help or get help for Mr Woodley despite knowing he
was injured
- Mr
Woodley obviously knew what was going to happen to him when they raised
their hoods and he suffered “terror” with one witness saying she
had never seen anyone look so terrified
Ahead of the
sentencing, the court heard the defendants had expressed “genuine
remorse” but the judge said none of the six who gave evidence during the
trial had “told the truth” about their involvement and claimed they
did not see or could not remember what happened.
“You decided to
put the interest of yourself and co-defendants before those of Jack and his
family,” the judge told them, adding: “You did everything you could
to deny them justice.”
IMAGE SOURCE,FAMILY HANDOUT
Image caption,
The judge said Jack
Woodley was on the threshold of his adult life with high hopes for the future
He said he understood
the youths may “regret what happened for many reasons” but “that
is not remorse”, which meant being “truly sorry not for what happened
but for what you did to make it happen”.
The sentencing was
delayed slightly due to disturbances outside the court between those attending
to watch from the public gallery.
Northumbria Police
said three men were arrested on suspicion of breach of the peace and affray.
‘Joint enterprise’
The judge said the
attack and murder was a “joint enterprise” and the youths “all
played a part”, while prosecutors had said the presence and actions of
each youth emboldened others to join in the attack and created the situation
for the fatal stabbing.
Speaking after the
sentencing, campaign group Joint Enterprise Not Guilty by Association, which
opposes joint enterprise convictions, said it was “appalled” by the
case.
The group is
supporting the families of nine of the defendants who said their sons had been
“given life sentences for a murder they did not commit”.
The families said they
were “mindful of the life that was lost” and “deeply
saddened” by Mr Woodley’s death but the convictions were “not
justice”, adding: “We will spend the rest of our lives fighting for
our children and our children will spend the rest of their lives maintaining
their innocence.”
Mr Woodley’s mother
Zoe McGill said all the defendants were “part of it”, adding:
“If you involve yourself with someone carrying a knife and you are aware
they have a knife then you are as much a murderer as them”.