A former soldier who was jailed for smoking on a plane after he started a fire which 'could have killed 200 on board' has had his sentence doubled to almost ten years. John Cox, 46, was initially locked up for four-and-a-half years after admitting committing arson during a Monarch flight from Birmingham to Sharm el-Sheikh in 2015.
Never heard such a sentence increase on a prosecution appeal.
Especially as he pleaded guilty first time.
He did not intend to start a blaze, but the judge said throwing a cigarette into the bin at 33,000 feet 'came very close to deliberate fire-setting'.
So the judge accepted he didn't actually mean to start a fire . I've never seen a sentence that long for arson when it was planned (unless someone died)
Never heard such a sentence increase on a prosecution appeal.Especially as he pleaded guilty first time.He did not intend to start a blaze, but the judge said throwing a cigarette into the bin at 33,000 feet 'came very close to deliberate fire-settin
The sentence is obviously meant as a warning to others.
We need more of that kind of sentencing. Oh, cry the do-gooders the jails would be full.
No they wouldn't, the deterrent effect of meaningful punishments would see fewer people offending. Like in the good old days when the prison population was far lower.
Soft sentences and comfortable prisons lead to full prisons.
The sentence is obviously meant as a warning to others.We need more of that kind of sentencing. Oh, cry the do-gooders the jails would be full.No they wouldn't, the deterrent effect of meaningful punishments would see fewer people offending. Like in