Aaron Campbell: Alesha MacPhail’s killer appeals against ‘excessive’ sentence

The 27-year prison sentence for the teenager convicted of abducting, raping and murdering Alesha MacPhail was “excessive and a miscarriage of justice”, an appeal court has heard.

Aaron Campbell snatched the six-year-old from her bed at her grandparents’ home on the Isle of Bute on 2 July last year.

Earlier this year, the 17-year-old was found guilty at the High Court in Glasgow and handed a life sentence with a minimum of 27 years.

Alesha’s parents, Robert MacPhail and Georgina Lochrane, were in the gallery as Campbell’s appeal was heard before three judges at the Criminal Appeal Court in Edinburgh.

The killer was linked into the courtroom via video and did not show any emotion during the hearing.

The grieving mother kept her eyes on her child’s murderer throughout much of it.

Campbell’s lawyer, Brian McConnachie QC, argued that a shorter release would make “more sense” because it would be difficult for Campbell to be rehabilitated when he is “middle aged” by the time he could be considered for release.

He said: “The question of whether he will be released will depend on the view of the Parole Board and upon them reaching a conclusion that it would be safe to release him.

“I accept, as does the appellant, that day may never come.

“Due to the appellant’s age, the punishment selected was excessive and amounts to a miscarriage of justice.”

He added: “If one maintains a punishment period as it is then the appellant will be 43 years of age before the issue (of his release) is perhaps considered to any degree.

“The appellant will have been in custody for the entire period he has been on this earth, plus another 11 years.”

Mr McConnachie also argued that the sentencing judge had overly-focused on “pessimistic” background reports when choosing the minimum jail term.

Ahead of the hearing, Alesha’s mother said in a statement on her “Justice for Alesha” page on Facebook that Campbell’s claim of being too young for the sentence was “laughable”.

Ms Lochrane added that the justice system now had an opportunity to make an example out of her daughter’s killer by potentially increasing his sentence, urging the court to “grasp it with both hands”.

During the nine-day trial in March, Campbell told the jury about how he would “never do something like that” when asked if he had killed Alesha.

But a friend had shown detectives messages he sent in 2017 where he said he “might kill 1 day for the lifetime experience”.

Campbell also tried to convince the jury he had sex with the girlfriend of Alesha’s father, Toni McLachlan, on the night of the murder.

After carrying out the atrocity, Campbell exchanged messages with Ms McLachlan, who he later tried to blame for the crime.

In one text message about the missing girl, he wrote: “Oh damn am sure she’s not went too far.”

He later confessed the crime to those assessing him ahead of sentencing and said he was “quite satisfied by the murder”.

Alesha, from Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, had been staying with her family on the island during the summer holidays.

Judge Lady Scott said a decision on the appeal would be made in writing in “due course”.

(c) Sky News 2019: Aaron Campbell: Alesha MacPhail’s killer appeals against ‘excessive’ sentence