Desmond Young sentenced for stabbing a man to death
27/06/2011
Desmond Young Snr, from Carlisle, was sentenced to an indeterminate prison sentence at Preston Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Joseph 'Downie' Howard in January 2011. He was ordered to serve a minimum of 8.5 years before he is eligible for parole. His son, Desmond Young Jnr was sentenced to 12 months for assisting an offender.
34 year old Mr Howard, known as Downie, died after receiving a single stab wound to the chest during an incident outside Desmond Young's house. The court heard that the events that led to his death had their origins in a seemingly innocuous incident about a week earlier when a fight broke out in a local pub after Desmond Young senior took a hat belonging to a friend of the Howard family and refused to return it.
Following the sentencing, Isla Chilton, Senior Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service in Cumbria said: "Downie Howard died in hospital after being stabbed by Desmond Young senior following an incident at Desmond Young’s house in January.
"Desmond Young was armed with a knife on that day, and during the incident that happened, when he confronted Downie Howard outside his house, he showed he was prepared to use it. He stabbed Downie once and as a result inflicted a fatal injury on him.
"Manslaughter is a very serious offence and the sentence handed down by the court today reflects that. The judge has sentenced him to an indeterminate sentence for public protection which means that while he must serve his minimum term before he can apply for parole - he will not be released until the parole board is satisfied that he no longer poses a danger to the public.
"His son admitted assisting an offender by helping him to get away from the scene. For several days both defendants tried to evade justice, but today justice has finally been delivered.
"It has been a very distressing and difficult time for Downie Howard's family since his death and I would like to extend my sincere sympathies to them."
ENDS
