Zara Aleena's family demands law change after killer gets prison sentence cut
The family of Zara Aleena, who was brutally murdered by an evil sexual predator, were left “extremely angry” after her killer had his prison sentence reduced.
The 35-year-old law graduate was dragged off the street by Jordan McSweeney when she was walking home from meeting friends in Ilford. Then he launched a horrific nine minute sexual assault that killed her. McSweeney refused to show up for his sentencing and previous legal proceedings before he was jailed for a life sentence with a minimum term of 38 years.
However, last month, McSweeney launched a desperate bid to have his term reduced. The court of appeal judges ruled that his sentence should be cut by five years because Zara “must have been rendered unconscious” in the vile assault before he left her for dead on a driveway. They said he didn't cause her "additional mental or physical suffering". This came after during sentencing McSweeney last year, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said a suggestion Ms Aleena had remained unconscious during the nine-minute attack was speculation.
The Lady Chief Justice Lady Carr said there was “ample evidence” that McSweeney was a “pugnacious and violent man”. During proceedings to reduce his sentence, McSweeney appeared from Long Lartin prison via videolink. In a ruling passed on Friday, three judges at the appeal court allowed McSweeney’s appeal, and found that the sentencing judge had imposed too high an “uplift” to the minimum term. They replaced his 38 year minimum term with a 33 year one.
Zara had been on her way home after seeing friends (PA)
Zara Aleena (PA)Zara’s aunt called for the law to be changed and expressed her fury and disappointment at the decision. Speaking on BBC Breakfast this morning, Farah Naz said her family were “extremely disappointed” and angry in the decision and reduce McSweeney’s sentence. Ms Naz said: “This is a man who didn’t show for his sentencing, who didn’t show for previous legal proceedings. He spat in the face of the law, gets the law to stand up for him and he’s able to exercise his right – surely somebody who has such a disdain for law should not be given that right of appeal. We need to change this law. I am extremely angry.”
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Ms Naz said that she was beginning to wonder if her family "can trust the judicial system", as the law "does not really take into account the victim's journey. At no point did any of our statements have an impact on the sentencing or on the appeal," she added.
Vile predator Jordan McSweeney (PA)Zara's family has previously described the minimum sentence reduction as a “shallow triumph” which sends a “disheartening” message to women as they branded him a “repugnant man”. In a statement issued by her aunt they said: “Today’s decision, a decision to reduce the minimum sentence for that repugnant man, aligns with an established legal sentencing framework, a framework we comprehend.
“Yet, the message it conveys to women is disheartening, suggesting that a ‘life sentence’ may not truly mean a lifetime behind bars. It is, in all honesty, a shallow triumph for him. Despite his sentencing to a minimum of 33 years, his time in incarceration has been marred by abhorrent conduct, marked by a lack of remorse and a callous attitude toward others. The prospect of his release after 33 years remains slim, but, naturally, we hope he remains imprisoned for life.”
CCTV footage of Jordan McSweeney following a woman in Ilford along Romford Road into Manor Park before his attack on Zara (PA)She added that Zara's murder “stands as a catalyst for reshaping how society safeguards women” as they committed themselves to “championing more robust measures to protect women. In the wake of this decision, we choose to relegate this man to obscurity, hoping that society forgets him as a meaningless and despicable individual. Our focus now lies elsewhere. We commit ourselves resolutely to championing more robust measures to protect women from sexual predators and murderers. We implore the media to disregard this inconsequential man, to refrain from printing his name or sharing his picture, and instead, we urge them to direct their attention toward remembering Zara.
“Zara, a beacon of hope, a symbol of change. Her tragic murder stands as a catalyst for reshaping how society safeguards women. She serves as our guiding light, and we invite each and every one of you to stand with us in preserving her memory, supporting our campaigning efforts, and ensuring that her legacy is not forgotten. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of women and in the fight against the darkness that threatens their safety.”
The Lady Chief Justice Lady Carr, sitting with Mrs Justice McGowan and Mrs Justice Ellenbogen, said: “Having correctly found that Ms Aleena must have been rendered unconscious at an early stage in the attack, the judge had lacked a sufficient evidential basis on which to be sure that there had been additional mental or physical suffering such as to justify an increase in the 30-year starting point.
“The judge had taken appropriate account of the evidence of his mental health and background and had been entitled to conclude that it offered no excuse or explanation for offences of such gravity, so as to reduce his culpability, or to provide meaningful mitigation.
“McSweeney’s disengagement with the court process had entitled her to conclude that remorse was not available as a mitigating factor and her approach to credit for his guilty plea could not be criticised. We pay tribute to Ms Aleena and her family. We observe that no sentence for murder can ever reflect the value of the life taken away or attempt to do so.”
During the appeal last month, McSweeney stormed out the room whinging he had “heard enough” as his lawyer argued for his sentence to be cut. The 30-year-old had been present over videolink, and caused the abrupt interruption when he left his seat with a prison officer saying he had “got everything he requires in his cell”.
During the appeal hearing McSweeney’s barrister George Carter-Stephenson KC argued that Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, who passed McSweeney's sentence in December, had wrongly factored in the "aggravating features" in the case. He said it was accepted there was a sexual motive to the crime, but argued the murder itself was not premeditated. He added: “The attack was an opportunistic act rather than anything that was planned in advance, though there was clearly a sexual encounter in mind. He planned to look for a sexual encounter, with or without consent.”
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However, Oliver Glasgow KC, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said the suggestion McSweeney had not intended to kill Ms Aleena was “unsustainable”. He told the court McSweeney had spent two hours stalking several women before turning his attention to Ms Aleena. Mr Glasgow said in written submissions: “The submission that the intention to murder Ms Aleena was formed ‘on the spur of the moment’ flies in the face of the applicant’s behaviour preceding the violence. The sexual assault of Ms Aleena was the culmination of hours of planning and premeditation.”
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