COPFSProsecutors have failed to increase the prison term given to a violent thug jailed for carrying out a murder bid on a woman he left brain-damaged.
Michael Harvey, 32, was given a nine-year term last year for attacking his victim in Glasgow city centre on October 1, 2023.
The High Court in Glasgow heard how Harvey struck his victim’s head repeatedly off the ground during the attack.
Jurors heard how Harvey then claimed she had sustained serious injuries after falling in a shower where they were both staying nearby.
The court heard how the woman was left so traumatised by her ordeal that she was unable to give evidence at Harvey’s trial.
Passing sentence, judge Lord Colbeck said the woman’s victim impact statement detailed the “devastating consequences” that Harvey’s behaviour had on her life.
He added: “Lying to others about what had happened to the woman was calculating and self-serving.
“In my assessment, those factors are redolent of a high degree of culpability.”
However, prosecutors believed the sentence given to Harvey was too lenient, and they launched proceedings against Harvey to have his term increased at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh.
Prosecutor John Keenan KC argued that the term was unduly lenient, given the seriousness and ferociousness of the attack.
His second ground of appeal was that Lord Colbeck should have imposed an extended sentence on Harvey and that he should be supervised by the authorities for a fixed period of time following his release from custody.
The Crown claimed this was because of the high risk of him committing more violent offences following his release from custody.
However, in a written judgment published by the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh, a panel of three senior judges rejected the Crown’s arguments.
Scotland’s second most senior judge, Lord Beckett, who sat with colleagues Lord Matthews and Lord Armstrong, concluded that their colleague acted correctly in sentencing Harvey.
They concluded that Harvey had no previous convictions for assault or domestic abuse and Lord Colneck properly considered aggravating and mitigating factors and followed sentencing guidelines correctly.
Lord Beckett, who delivered the judgement, wrote: “Having viewed the CCTV footage and having considered carefully all the circumstances of this difficult case, we are not persuaded that the sentence imposed fell below the range of sentences which a judge at first instance, applying his mind to all the relevant factors, could reasonably have considered appropriate.
“Accordingly, it does not meet the test for undue leniency
During proceedings at the High Court in Glasgow, jurors heard how the pair had checked into the Ibis Hotel in the city’s West Regent Street late on September 30, 2023.
They had appeared in good spirits – she was said to have had “a radiant smile”, enjoying a bottle of beer and playing pool.
But, the trial heard “something annoyed” Harvey after they went to their room.
The trial heard that when the pair went outside, he was “a very angry man”.
Graphic CCTV footage of Harvey then turning on the woman during an unprovoked assault in nearby Waterloo Street was played during the trial.
This also involved her being thrown to the ground, grabbed, kicked and dragged. She was, at times, left unconscious.
In her closing speech, prosecutor Lindsey Dalziel stated: “Michael Harvey subjected the woman to a series of brutal attacks.
“She was left in a condition where she could not walk, she could not talk, she could not properly function.
“Once in that condition, he compelled her to move at his direction – he paid little attention to her appalling deterioration, which you may have found distressing to watch.
“I suggest an unprovoked and murderous assault on a vulnerable woman, so blinded by rage, that he did not care whether she lived or died.”
Others in the street became aware of what was happening.
Police also turned up – but the court heard it appeared Harvey managed to “talk his way out of handcuffs” despite the woman’s condition.
The court heard the officers “actions” that night are being “investigated separately”.
Harvey did end up in the hospital with the woman, but left before she was properly checked out.
She was described as “barely functioning” by the time he led her away.
They returned to the hotel, where Harvey remained in a rage.
There was banging in their room, and a man was heard to be screaming.
The woman was eventually found unresponsive by a hotel worker in the blood-splattered room.
Harvey was later said to have given an account to police described as “preposterous” with an “abundance of inconsistencies and lies”.
This also included claims the woman had fallen outside when “the fresh air hit her” and that she had been “lovey dovey” while they were in accident and emergency.
The court heard the victim suffered “traumatic brain injuries”. She continues to have issues with memory loss, which will not improve and is likely to be on anti-seizure medication for life.
During Harvey’s appeal, defence advocate Donald Findlay KC argued that the judge acted correctly and that the Crown couldn’t demonstrate the sentence was inappropriate in the circumstances.
Writing about the Crown’s second ground of appeal – the failure to impose an extended sentence – Lord Beckett concluded his colleague acted properly.
He wrote: “Whilst this terrible crime was sustained over periods of time in the early hours, and it involved repetition, it is not clear that it is truly part of any wider pattern of behaviour.
“In the particular circumstances of this case, the judge was entitled to refrain from finding that an extended sentence was necessary to protect the public from serious harm from the respondent. “We refuse ground of appeal two.”
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