A 22-year-old man has been jailed for killing a Qatari student during a racist row in East Sussex.
George Austin, from south London, who was convicted of manslaughter at an earlier hearing at Lewes Crown Court was jailed for four-and-a-half years.
Mohammed al-Majed, 16, died after he was punched in the face and hit the pavement in Hastings on 22 August 2008.
Given that this attack was racially aggravated, and that being drunk is no excuse the sentence does not appear to reflect the seriousness of the crime. Especially, if it is taken into account that he will only serve 2 years and 3 months for taking a life.
"Mohammed died in hospital three days after being assaulted outside a kebab shop on Hastings seafront during a row which began with racist taunts.
He suffered a brain haemorrhage and fractured skull, and died after going into cardiac arrest".
"Defence counsel Susan Rodham asked if Austin's sentence could reflect that the death followed a single punch.
She said: "It was not premeditated in any way, it was an indirect injury that was not foreseeable in the circumstances"".
If someone is knocked unconscious it is reasonably forseeable that they will fall to the ground and be unable to break the fall and therefore more likely to receive a greater injury with the head striking the pavement. I am not happy with this nonsense about the sentence should only reflect a single punch. It is not a case of accidental death. In my view, he got off very light in the circumstances.
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