James Paul Davies, 36, was driving an unregistered BMW and was using his mobile phone when he collided with another car before mounting the pavement, killing Ciaran Leigh Morris. Davies left the scene of the crash on Brownhills High Street, near Walsall, in the West Midlands, on Easter Sunday last year. Baby Ciaran’s parents had taken him on one of his first trips when tragedy struck. His mother was left with a broken collarbone. Davies was seen running on CCTV before telling a bystander he had “killed a baby and was going down for a long time”. He finally called the police 40 minutes later to tell them about the accident. Davies was originally handed six-and-a-half years behind bars at Wolverhampton Crown Court in April this year after being convicted of causing the infant’s death by dangerous driving while uninsured. But the sentence was referred to the Court of Appeal by the office of the Attorney General, Suella Braverman QC, who argued it was “unduly lenient”. On Wednesday, magistrates increased Davies’ jail term to 10 years after ruling that the judge, John Butterfield QC, had acted in error. Oliver Glasgow QC, representing the Attorney General, said Judge Butterfield failed to properly consider a number of factors which increased the seriousness of the crime – including his excessive speed. Image: James Paul Davies must now serve 10 years in prison He told the court: “Not only did (Davies) have no insurance, the car itself was unregistered, it was a car that should not be driven.” Davis “just wasn’t looking where he was going,” Mr Glasgow said. The court heard that 16.5 seconds before the collision Davies was driving at 67mph. It slowed to 33mph as it approached a roundabout, six seconds before the crash. He then drove off onto the wrong side of the road into the path of a speeding car. “The offender must have been using his phone. At the time he swerved from one lane to the other, there was no attempt to brake or avoid the collision,” Mr Glasgow said. Davies, who watched the appeal hearing from HMP Birmingham via video link, told police at the time that he had “temporarily lost consciousness” due to a coughing fit. Charles Crignon, mitigating, said Judge Butterfield had been “careful” in sentencing and was “best placed to assess each factor”. Mr Crnion also said Davies was driving at the speed limit at the time of the collision. His earlier speeding was “very closely related, but not the cause” of the fatal crash, the lawyer said. Lady Justice Carr, sitting alongside Justice Fraser and Judge Deborah Taylor, told the court: “We note at the outset that no sentence can bring Ciaran back to his family. Image: Placing flowers at the scene of the tragedy “A term of approximately seven years should have been the platform to consider additional aggravating and mitigating factors. “We believe there were multiple significant additional factors … He deserved a 10-year sentence.” The Attorney General welcomed the increased sentence. After the hearing, he said: “Today my thoughts are with the family of Ciaran Morris, who was tragically killed by the criminal dangerous driving of James Davis. “While no sentence can repair the damage caused by Davis’ actions, I welcome the court’s decision to impose a sentence that better reflects the horrific offense that has occurred.” Ciaran’s parents paid tribute to him, saying: ‘Mum and Dad’s hearts will always ache, we love you more than anything. “We didn’t get to hold you long, but we’re glad we got to know you, care for you, and call you our son. Fly high angel.” His great aunt, Lisa Ford, told Sky News how the tragedy had “torn apart” the close-knit family. A crowd funding campaign to pay for the funeral has raised thousands of pounds after being flooded with donations within three days of its launch.


title: “Ciaran Leigh Morris Driver Who Killed 18 Day Sentence Increased On Appeal Uk News " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-14” author: “Ronnie Payne”


James Paul Davies, 36, was driving an unregistered BMW and was using his mobile phone when he collided with another car before mounting the pavement, killing Ciaran Leigh Morris. Davies left the scene of the crash on Brownhills High Street, near Walsall, in the West Midlands, on Easter Sunday last year. Baby Ciaran’s parents had taken him on one of his first trips when tragedy struck. His mother was left with a broken collarbone. Davies was seen running on CCTV before telling a bystander he had “killed a baby and was going down for a long time”. He finally called the police 40 minutes later to tell them about the accident. Davies was originally handed six-and-a-half years behind bars at Wolverhampton Crown Court in April this year after being convicted of causing the infant’s death by dangerous driving while uninsured. But the sentence was referred to the Court of Appeal by the office of the Attorney General, Suella Braverman QC, who argued it was “unduly lenient”. On Wednesday, magistrates increased Davies’ jail term to 10 years after ruling that the judge, John Butterfield QC, had acted in error. Oliver Glasgow QC, representing the Attorney General, said Judge Butterfield failed to properly consider a number of factors which increased the seriousness of the crime – including his excessive speed. Image: James Paul Davies must now serve 10 years in prison He told the court: “Not only did (Davies) have no insurance, the car itself was unregistered, it was a car that should not be driven.” Davis “just wasn’t looking where he was going,” Mr Glasgow said. The court heard that 16.5 seconds before the collision Davies was driving at 67mph. It slowed to 33mph as it approached a roundabout, six seconds before the crash. He then drove off onto the wrong side of the road into the path of a speeding car. “The offender must have been using his phone. At the time he swerved from one lane to the other, there was no attempt to brake or avoid the collision,” Mr Glasgow said. Davies, who watched the appeal hearing from HMP Birmingham via video link, told police at the time that he had “temporarily lost consciousness” due to a coughing fit. Charles Crignon, mitigating, said Judge Butterfield had been “careful” in sentencing and was “best placed to assess each factor”. Mr Crnion also said Davies was driving at the speed limit at the time of the collision. His earlier speeding was “very closely related, but not the cause” of the fatal crash, the lawyer said. Lady Justice Carr, sitting alongside Justice Fraser and Judge Deborah Taylor, told the court: “We note at the outset that no sentence can bring Ciaran back to his family. Image: Placing flowers at the scene of the tragedy “A term of approximately seven years should have been the platform to consider additional aggravating and mitigating factors. “We believe there were multiple significant additional factors … He deserved a 10-year sentence.” The Attorney General welcomed the increased sentence. After the hearing, he said: “Today my thoughts are with the family of Ciaran Morris, who was tragically killed by the criminal dangerous driving of James Davis. “While no sentence can repair the damage caused by Davis’ actions, I welcome the court’s decision to impose a sentence that better reflects the horrific offense that has occurred.” Ciaran’s parents paid tribute to him, saying: ‘Mum and Dad’s hearts will always ache, we love you more than anything. “We didn’t get to hold you long, but we’re glad we got to know you, care for you, and call you our son. Fly high angel.” His great aunt, Lisa Ford, told Sky News how the tragedy had “torn apart” the close-knit family. A crowd funding campaign to pay for the funeral has raised thousands of pounds after being flooded with donations within three days of its launch.