A man has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for killing a pedestrian with a single punch to the head in Bournemouth. The incident occurred on 6 November last year outside a Tesco Express in Charminster.
Lewis Gill, 20, from Sutton, Surrey, struck Andrew Young, 40, after Young had argued with Gill's friend, Victor Ibitoye, about cycling on the pavement. CCTV footage showed Gill approaching Young in broad daylight and punching him in the face, causing him to fall backwards and hit his head on the road. Young died in hospital the following day.
Gill pleaded guilty to manslaughter at Salisbury Crown Court. The court heard that Gill claimed he was worried Young was being menacing and thought he might have a weapon, but a postmortem found no defensive injuries on Young. The prosecution noted that Young, who had Asperger's syndrome, had the social skills of a 14-year-old.
Judge Keith Cutler stated that Young did not pose a threat to Gill, describing Gill as a 'powerfully built young man' who must have known the punch would cause significant injury. Gill was also sentenced to two consecutive three-month terms for committing the crime while on a suspended sentence for robbery and handling stolen goods.
Young's mother, Pamela, described the sentence as a 'joke', expressing her grief and frustration that Gill did not receive a longer term. She said, 'I'm a committed Christian, but I think that if someone takes a life, they should be prepared to forfeit their own.'
