Harper’s Law; why it will be fitting legacy to PC Andrew Harper – The Yorkshire Post says
It was why The Yorkshire Post joined forces with Halifax MP Holly Lynch, a policeman’s daughter, and others to back the Protect The Protectors legislation which led to the advent of more draconian sentencing powers – the challenge is making sure the judiciary use these powers.
And it explains the growing groundswell of support for the campaign being led by Pc Harper’s grief-stricken widow Lissie after the three assailants responsible for her husband’s death were given sentences that were condemned as a travesty.
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Hide AdConvicted of manslaughter after being cleared of murder, Henry Long, 19, was jailed for 16 years and Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, both 18, were given 13 years.
Effectively it leaves Mrs Harper serving the life sentence – she had been married to her husband for just a month before he was dragged to a violent death by the gang’s getaway car as he and a colleague investigated the late-night theft of a quad bike last August.
With the so-called Harper’s Law being backed by the police, and public, in growing numbers, it falls to Britain’s politicians to work on a cross-party basis, as Ms Lynch did so effectively, so that this glaring legal loophole can be closed before another family are left facing the living hell now being endured by Mrs Harper.
Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.
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Hide AdAlmost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.
And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.
Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing [email protected]. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available.
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Sincerely. Thank you.
James Mitchinson
Editor
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