Case study : 'No one has ever served 14 years…'

MARGARET Davidson's mother Elizabeth appealed to the courts to impose the maximum sentence available of 14 years on her daughter's killer Nolan Haworth during his trial in 2006.

In an impact statement to the court, Mrs Davidson said that a heavy sentence "might bring home to other young people and other drivers the dangerous weapon they are handed when they get that little slip that says you are now a driver."

Mrs Davidson said: "I'm not sure there is any legislation that would stop this particular young man doing what he did.

"He (Haworth) appears to have been a young man with no respect for authority or the law."

She urged the courts to make use of the maximum sentences available.

"I don't think anyone has ever served 14 years and I wonder why," she said.

Haworth was sentenced to four years in prison.