CAPALABA MP Don Brown has urged the Queensland Attorney General to appeal the sentence handed down to the teenager who killed Kate Leadbetter and Matt Field at Alexandra Hills on Australia Day 2021.
Create a free account to read this article
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The teen was drunk and high on cannabis, stole a four-wheel drive and ploughed into the couple while they walked their dogs.
Mr Brown said the sentence delivered in court on Wednesday was "grossly inadequate" and not in line with community expectations.
He wrote in a letter to Attorney General Shannon Fentiman and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk that the events had rocked the Redlands community to its core.
"In delivering the sentence, the Justice classified the crime of manslaughter as a 'heinous offence'," he wrote.
"There is a potential of a maximum penalty of life imprisonment for such an offence."
Mr Brown said the sentence should be appealed on behalf of the Redlands community and the loved ones Matt and Kate had left behind.
"It is my duty as an elected representative to stand up and fight for the community in times of tragedy," he wrote.
"I did this in the initial aftermath by working with fellow government members to introduce sweeping changes to youth justice laws."
Justice Burns said taking into account the teen's protracted period of extremely dangerous driving that culminated in a grossly negligent final act, he regarded the manslaughter offences as "particularly heinous".
But the teenager had to be sentenced as a child, with the "grave nature of offending" balanced by his youth.
The sentence was also based on the teenager not intending to kill or do grievous bodily harm.
Justice Burns sentenced the teen to 10 years in detention, requiring him to serve 60 per cent. He will be released on Australia Day 2027, at the age of 23.
"No sentence will be adequate ... (and) can't do justice to the suffering you have caused," Justice Burns said.
Opposition Leader David Crisafulli also called on the Attorney General to appeal the sentence, saying it was not proportionate to the damage the teen's offending had caused.
"Our youth justice system currently sends a message to young offenders there are no significant consequences for their offending," he said.
"Tragedies are the inevitable conclusion of a broken youth justice system."
Read more local news here