Appeal over 10-year jail term for East Lothian murder bid
A man jailed for 10 years for a murder bid on an East Lothian street has had his sentence referred to the High Court on appeal.
Dillin Armstrong and five others attacked Rhys Reynolds, 26, with knives, a metal pole and a rock in Musselburgh on Hogmanay 2018. On Friday, the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission confirmed it is challenging Armstrong's sentence. The other five have had their sentences reduced since the trial in August 2019. Armstrong was convicted of the attempted murder of Mr Reynolds along with three others at the High Court in Edinburgh. A fifth man was found guilty of assault to injury. A sixth individual had earlier pleaded guilty to the attempted murder charge. Rhys Reynolds was repeatedly punched, kicked and stamped by the gang during the assault, on 31 December 2018. He suffered 36 injuries, including facial fractures and bleeding to the brain. Last February two of the attackers had their jail terms reduced, following an earlier successful legal challenge by the three other attackers. This left Armstrong, who was 24 years old at the time of his conviction, as the only one serving his original sentence. 'Comparative justice' Outlining the grounds for its challenge, the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) said: "All five of the applicant's co-offenders had their sentences quashed on appeal and reduced sentences substituted in their place. "The Commission concluded that the principle of comparative justice was breached in this case." The SCCRC said that if Armstrong's appeal had been heard alongside his co-offenders, his sentence would "have been reduced to some extent". As a result it believes there may have been a miscarriage of justice in relation to Armstrong's sentence. The SCCRC added: "The Commission also believes it is in the interests of justice that the case be referred to the High Court for determination." Related Internet Links SCCRC