Scott verdict fight victory
The family of Scott Poll today won their fight to appeal against the three-year sentence handed to a taxi driver who dragged the West Bromwich teenager a mile to his death.
The Crown Prosecution Service announced today that a review of the decision will be heard by the Court of Appeal in London.
Arthur Poll, Scott's father, said it was "fantastic" news.
The CPS had been granted 28 days' leave to lodge an official protest against the sentence handed down by Judge Frank Chapman at Wolverhampton Crown Court last month.
CPS spokesman Vinny Bolina said that period expired at 5pm yesterday and the success of the application was confirmed by the Attorney General's office today.
"We have now heard back that there are grounds for an appeal against the three-year sentence and an appeal has now been lodged with the court in London," he said.
A date for the hearing has yet to be fixed.
The 17-year-old from Lincoln Road, Stone Cross, died in February when he was mowed down by a taxi in Hollyhedge Road, West Bromwich, and dragged beneath it for a mile.
Driver Ghulam Hussain, of Grange Road, West Bromwich, was sentenced to a three-year jail term after denying murder and death by dangerous driving but pleading guilty to manslaughter.
A Justice for Scott campaign was launched almost immediately. Today Mr Poll said: "I'm delighted. No one can understand how the judge came to pass such a lenient sentence.
"This isn't just about Scott anymore, it's for every parent who loses a child in a hit and run."
By Marion Brennan
