Teen convicted of murdering Brianna Ghey has sentence appeal denied
Eddie Ratcliffe, who was found guilty of murdering Ghey, has had his bid to appeal the length of his sentence refused by three senior judges
By Gary Grimes
One of the teenagers found guilty of murdering trans teen Brianna Ghey has had his bid to appeal the length of his sentence refused by three senior judges.
Earlier this year, Eddie Ratcliffe, alongside Scarlett Jenkinson, was found guilty of murdering Ghey in February 2023. After being convicted by the Manchester Crown Court, Ratcliffe was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 20 years incarcerated.
The teenager’s legal team had asked the Court of Appeal in London to reduce the sentence, arguing that the trial judge did not sufficiently take his “immaturity” into account.
“There is no doubt they were taken into account, but they were not taken into account fully”
In their case, Ratcliffe’s legal rep Richard Littler KC, pointed to the teenager’s diagnosis for both autism spectrum disorder and selective mutism, as reported by the BBC. He referred to the boy’s “poor social skills” and “immaturity”, as well as “a lower-than-expected ability to express what he thinks or articulate his ideas”, adding that the sentence was “far too high”.
“There is no doubt they were taken into account, but they were not taken into account fully,” Littler argued.
However, the Crown Prosecution Service opposed the bid, arguing that the sentence was not “manifestly excessive.” Yesterday three senior judges agreed to dismiss the bid, concluding that the proposed grounds of appeal were “not arguable.”
Speaking to Attitude earlier this year, Brianna’s mother Esther Ghey remembered her daughter as an outgoing young girl who “just wanted to be a normal teenager.”
“I want to create this lasting positive legacy” – Esther, mother of Brianna Ghey
In the wake of Brianna’s death, Esther launched the Peace and Mind campaign in an effort to channel her grief into creating positive change for young people. She established Peace and Mind UK, a community interest company. “I want to create this lasting positive legacy that’s going to help other people like Brianna who are suffering right now,” Esther explained.
The initiative focuses on two main areas: introducing mindfulness in schools across England and making the online world safer for children.
Brianna Ghey was posthumously awarded with the Inspiration Award at this year’s Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards, powered by Jaguar. On how she thinks her daughter might have reacted to receiving such an award, Esther said: “I think that she would be really proud. She would be proud of herself, and rightly so.”