Star comment: Jail terms for killers welcomed

At long last, a judge has handed down jail terms that the majority of the public would think appropriate.

This was a sickening murder. Not only shocking because it was over the alleged robbery of a fake watch – but made worse by the killers apparently laughing after the victim was gunned down while at traffic lights in West Bromwich.

It may be a quirk of the law that Mohammed Humza, 20, who pulled the trigger, was given a 28-and-a-half minimum jail term while accomplices Vikesh Chauhan, 24, and Jaspal Rai, 25, will serve a minimum 30 years.

But it will serve as a powerful lesson to anyone thinking about committing or being part of a murder.

All three defendants were young men. They will spend their prime years behind bars.

And, importantly, they will be off of the streets where they can do no harm.

It has become a regular occurrence for this newspaper and this column to lament the pitiful and unduly lenient sentences handed out by the judiciary.

So we praise Judge Mr Justice Haddon-Cave for sending these murderers away for a very long time.

They will now have the next three decades to reflect on their actions.

Thirty years to realise the error of their ways.

This will send out a strong message to the criminal underworld.

Just look how quickly the three were arrested, charged and sent down.

This will be the ultimate deterrent.

No man – or woman – can believe any course of action is worth 30 years behind bars.

It also demonstrates that it doesn’t matter whether you fire a weapon, drive a car, or are simply at the scene – if the system works properly, you will be firmly punished and spend a long, long time in prison.

Mr Campbell leaves behind a partner and two-year-old child. It is shattering for them and his whole family.

The law has rightly come down hard on his killers – now we need to see a similar stance taken by the rest of the judiciary.