Judge Jonathan Durham Hall who recently presided over one of the most difficult cases n his career, sentenced the three thugs who were convicted of brutally attacking an innocent and defenseless disabled man to a total of 34 years in prison. He regretted the leniency of the punishment blaming in effect legislation that prevented him from ordering Life Sentences for the horrendous crime they had committed.

He described the attackers, Andrew Law aged 18 who he sent to young offender’s institution for 12 years, Jonathan Jackson, aged 19 and Andrew Gorton, aged 21, both of whom were sentenced to 11 years each, as depraved, sadistic, brutal and evil.

The three carried out their dastardly act after getting drunk, attacked Damien Shepherd on Burnley Road, Todmorden, “for the fun of it”, leaving him with a brain injury and in a wheel chair. They admitted that they knew he was disabled and had actually assumed he was dead and left him in that condition on the pavement.

The judge accused the three of carrying out this brutal attack because they did not like what Mr. Shepherd and the vulnerability that his disability represented. He characterized them as being depraved, sadistic, brutal and evil in that they shattered the life of another human being.

The prosecutor in the case, Nadim Bashir, described how the three bullies pushed 43 year old Mr. Shepherd to the ground, dragged him and brutally kicked him. He arrived at the hospital unconscious and bloodied. He sustained a severe traumatic brain injury and was so badly bruised that he spent a month in intensive care. Today, nearly four months after the attack, Mr. Shepherd still requires an exceptional amount of care.

Due to the beating he sustained, Mr. Shepherd was unable to give evidence in the case. In statements prepared by his sister, and read in court, she described that he had been unconscious for two weeks and had no memory of the attack and of his former life.
After carrying out a crime of this nature one would assume that the people involved would be totally devoid of any conscience, but fortunately that proved not to be the case. Several days after the attack, on May 3rd, Andrew Law approached law enforcement officers and admitted his part in the crime. Not long after, Jackson and Gorton were brought into custody.

During the course of the trial, there was testimony regarding a similar incident involving these three men. A week prior to the attack on Mr. Shepherd, the gang attacked a 25 year old cyclist, Thomas Croft in nearly the same spot. In the event, they knocked him off his bike with the intention of beating him up but he managed to get away from them. He stopped a car hoping to get help only to discover that these three thugs were in the car, whereupon they beat him up.
They admitted to attacking the cyclist. Jackson and Gorton admitted intentionally taking part in the attack on Mr. Shepherd. Gorton’s attorney Ian Howard said that his client “holds himself in perhaps more contempt than the judge” Adrian Strong, Law’s attorney explained that the reason he turned himself into the police was because he could not live with himself knowing what he had done. Jackson’s attorney, Alexander Wolfson said: It is impossible to hear Ms Shepherd’s (sister of the victim) statement and not cry.
Speaking after the trial, Det Insp Tony Nicholson, of Calderdale CID, shared some of his thoughts on the case. He said that the brutality and cowardly nature of the attack on a vulnerable man who suffered from such an apparent physical disability by three physically healthy young men literally disgusted the officers who had been involved in the case.

He then noted that the beating inflicted upon Mr. Shepherd was of a nature that he will carry the scars until he dies. In an unusual move, the police officers have established a close relationship with the Shepherd family. He expressed the hope that the jail sentences would provide a modicum of comfort to them.
On the sentence, Mr. Nicholson added that he hoped they would serve as a lesson to other young men to be ware as to how they “get their kicks” after they get drunk. People who think that beating up on others is just one way to have fun, will end up paying for their “good time” in a measure far beyond their joy.

It is now months after the attack and Mr. Shepherd is still in rehabilitation where his sister, who says the attackers ruined his life, visits him regularly. The attack devastated his life and hers and she feels the events that have transpired have taken a big part of his life away from him. Before the ordeal he battled against the cerebral palsy to achieve a sense of independence. Now all of that has been lost. She is bitter about the fact that after they complete their prison sentences, the three men who did this will be able to gom about their lives. Damien will never be the same.

She described seeing him at the hospital after he was brought in. The huge cut along his face, his fractured skull and eye socket made him unrecognizable. She didn’t believe he would make it out of the ordeal alive.

The medical teams were devoted and gave him the special care he required. After a month in intensive care at Royal Oldham Hospital he was transferred to a high-dependency unit for another four weeks. Afterwards he was sent to a rehab centre at Calderdale Royal Hospital and then to Rakehead in Burnley, whre he is currently recuperating.

Miss Shepherd feels that the mental scars her brother has are comparable to his physical injuries. Before the attack he was talkative and very affectionate and he loved to take his dogs out for a walk around Todmorden. He is completely changed now. This once lively and happy man is quiet and withdrawn. His former brilliant memory is now very poor.
Fortunately he doesn’t remember anything connected to the attack, at least he doesn’t have that to torture him.