Killer's sentence '˜does not match crime' says Dickson

Thirty-one-year-old Maggie Henderson McCarroll was sentended at Belfast Crown Court on Monday.

She will also serve a further three years on licence.

Henderson McCarroll pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the 67-year-old pensioner whom she stabbed, gagged and bound at his Station Road home in January 2016.

In a statement, Mr. Dickson said: “While obviously I am not privy to all the information the judge had in coming to this decision, from the outside looking in, it does appear the sentence does not match the crime committed.

“The Attorney General has a responsibility to ensure the letter of the law is upheld and to review sentences where he sees fit. On the surface, this sentence may fall into that category.

“The justice system not only has a duty to deliver justice for the victim and his family, but also to take steps to rehabilitate the offender, which also makes me question the breakdown of the sentence, especially with psychology and drug rehab services in prisons under strain.”