Olivia's mum welcomes punishment for no show at sentencing

OLIVIA Pratt-Korbel’s mum has welcomed new powers to ensure criminals who refuse to attend their sentencing hearings are punished and said they should be “forced to listen” to victim statements.

- By PATRICK EDRICH

Cheryl Korbel said she was “annoyed, angry and shocked” when her daughter's murderer, Thomas Cashman, refused to attend court to learn his punishment.

Cashman, armed with two guns, chased fellow drug dealer Joseph Nee into Olivia's Dovecot home on August 22 2022, hitting the schoolgirl with a stray bullet. Speaking to BBC Radio Merseyside, Ms Korbel said she had wanted to speak directly to Cashman and “look him in the eye”.

Cashman, right, was jailed for life with a minimum of 42 years in April 2023, but remained in his cell during sentencing. Ms Korbel and her family have spent the last two years campaigning for a change in the law to force criminals to appear in court for their sentencing.

It was announced this week that a new bill was introduced in parliament which would give judges additional powers to punish those who don’t attend.

These sanctions will include more prison time or loss of privileges. The move, which was introduced in the government's Victims and Courts Bill, in Parliament on Wednesday, has been created in honour of Olivia, after her family, campaigners and the ECHO called for a change in the law.