Two 13-year-old boys, who were 12 when they committed the crime, have been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Shawn Seesahai. However, a High Court judge has imposed reporting restrictions preventing the publication of their names due to their age.
They're Britain's youngest knife killers, locked up for the brutal murder of Shawn Seesahai, aged 19, in a park in Wolverhampton. But the media isn't allowed to reveal the names of the lads, who were aged 12 at the time, despite committing such a shocking crime.
The killers, both from Wolverhampton, were found guilty in June of murdering Shawn, who was stabbed in the heart and suffered a skull fracture during an attack on the city’s Stowlawn playing fields on November 13 last year. Why judge did not name the murderers The judge told the court the facts of the killing – which “took place in not much more than a minute” – were “of course shocking, particularly given the very young age of the defendants”. As part of her ruling, the judge accepted evidence from social workers that one of the defendants was vulnerable, had “extremely complex needs” and that identifying him would have “an extremely detrimental impact on his mental health”.
Naming the boys would also enable the media to investigate the possibility of institutional failures, Mr Bunting asserted. “How does naming two 12-year-olds better inform public debate?” Mr Lewis asked. “There is no evidence that to name two 12-year-olds would provide any deterrent.” The judge added she could not be sure which of the boys had inflicted a 23cm-deep wound which almost passed all the way through Mr Seesahai’s body.
Mitigating factors included the fact the “spur-of-the-moment attack” was not premeditated, and the young age of the defendants, who were told they will remain in separate secure units where they were held on remand during their trial. The court heard the second defendant had a supportive and loving relationship with his parents and was not previously known to the police.
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