THE mother of Jack Lis has taken to social media to express her horror that the woman responsible for the dog that killed her son could be released from prison this week.
Emma Whitfield’s 10-year-old son Jack was killed by XL Bully dog Beast while playing at a friend’s house in Caerphilly in November 2021.
Upon being charged with offences linked to the dog, Amy Salter, then 28, was jailed for three years at Cardiff Crown Court in June 2022 alongside owner Brandon Hayden, then 19, who received a longer sentence.
However, the Argus understands that Salter is due to be released from prison this week after only serving half her sentence.
Jack’s mother took to social media, namely X, formerly Twitter, to share her disgust, saying that she did not believe this was justice being done for her son.
This comes after the family discovered in August that Salter was being allowed to enjoy days out from prison, despite being so early in her sentence.
The Argus understands that Salter is being released on licence this Friday, December 8, with some conditions that she must stick to, in order to avoid being returned to prison.
According to Ms Whitfield’s post, these conditions include not being allowed in the Caerphilly county borough and not contacting Ms Whitfield or any member of her immediate family. The Argus has been unable to confirm this with the Ministry of Justice.
Ms Whitfield continued in her post: “Sentencing guidelines for this type of crime are a disgrace and to have them changed so people are given harsher punishments is a part of my campaign.
“I knew this was coming, but now it’s made official it just infests my brain with anxiety. I’m petrified of coming across them and the people they associate with.
Have your XL Bully kill a 10 year old child, get arrested the day after, be released on bail and wait 7months to receive your sentence in Crown Court, get given 3 years custodial, be out after 18months. Thats our “justice” system.
— Emma W #ForJackLis💙 (@Emma__Whitfield) December 5, 2023
Amy Salter is due out of prison by the end of… pic.twitter.com/wHMTZIQJWH
“From the moment Jack was killed we’ve received blow after blow with the so-called justice system and it feels never ending.”
An expert working group has been established to identify additional measures to reduce dog attacks and promote responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog, informed by recent research, with the most recent summit hosted by Minister for Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths earlier this month.
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