Lisa Mavin, from Blyth, Northumberland, has expressed relief after the Government confirmed it will block the early release of a dangerous driver who caused the death of her 15-year-old son, Corey.
Corey Mavin and Connor Lapworth, 18, both from Blyth, were passengers in a Suzuki Vitara driven by Garry Robinson. Robinson, who was high on cocaine, lost control while taking a bend at high speed and collided head-on with an oncoming car on Hartford Bank in Cramlington, Northumberland.
Crash and sentencing
The collision on December 22, 2023, claimed the lives of Corey and Connor. A 17-year-old passenger in the Suzuki and a 36-year-old woman in the Range Rover Evoque that was hit were seriously injured.
Robinson, 41, of no fixed address, admitted two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and two charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. In May 2024, he was jailed for 18 years at Newcastle Crown Court and handed a lifetime driving ban.
In May last year, Robinson won an appeal to have his sentence reduced. His original sentence was quashed and replaced with a non-extended sentence of 14 years imprisonment. The lifetime driving ban remained in place.
Government decision
Lisa had been told that Robinson could be released early under the Government's early prisoner release scheme, introduced to free up space in overcrowded prisons. On Sunday, the Government confirmed that those convicted of manslaughter, death by drunk or dangerous driving, and historic child sex offences would be blocked from early release.
Lisa told ChronicleLive: "Finally some good news."
"I think that everyone has stuck together with their petitions and I think they might have had some input. I just hope they stand by it."
"I'm glad. It gives us time to adjust to life a bit better knowing that he's not roaming the streets."
"If they let them out sooner, more people will keep doing it. They have had to do this to make an example to everybody and say this is what's going to happen, we won't be as lenient on you."
"It's a bit better knowing that I'm not going to get a phone call saying he's going to be out enjoying his Christmas dinner. It is probably going to make our Christmas a little bit more lighter knowing that he is not going to be out."
Family's ongoing grief
Lisa, who is also mother to Callum, 28, Riley, 13, and Finley, nine, is still coming to terms with Corey's death. She said: "I'm no happier because I feel like I have forever got a dark cloud over me."
"I think, during the first year, I wasn't grieving properly. As the years go on it hits you harder. Everybody moves on with their lives and I think people expect you to be happy and not stuck on that day."
"Nothing can prepare you for losing a child. Especially when they are missing their milestones and his friends are getting them. They are passing their driving tests and getting engaged and we're not going to get that from him."
Lisa is running a petition on Change.org calling for tougher sentences for those who cause death by dangerous driving. She backed the families of Archie York, seven, and Maya Chappell, two, who urged the Prime Minister not to release child killers early.
Lisa, who works as bar staff and a singer, said: "I'm grateful to all of the families that have stuck together and fought it. Everybody has supported each other and come together as families. I think that's probably made people realise we're not going to stop."
Prime Minister's statement
In a statement released on Sunday, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: "I know how strongly people feel about this issue. I understand the concern and anger because I share it. That's why I took action during my first weeks as Prime Minister to block some of the very worst in society being released before they should."
"We moved quickly to block vile criminals who commit rape, sexually abuse children and groom vulnerable young people. But I always said I wanted to do more."
"We will now not only be keeping offenders serving time for indecent assault locked up, but also those in prison for manslaughter and death by dangerous driving. This means that the awful criminals responsible for the killing of PC Andrew Harper will not have their sentence shortened."
"The truth is I wanted to go even further. But I've pushed the system to the very limits of what's possible without risking the prison system collapsing within months, putting the public at enormous risk."
Archie York died when his home in Benwell, Newcastle, was destroyed in an explosion caused by an illegal drugs lab in the flat below. Drug dealer Reece Galbraith was jailed for 14 years after admitting manslaughter in connection with the blast. Maya Chappell died after being violently shaken by her mother's boyfriend, Michael Daymond, at her home in Shotton Colliery, County Durham, in 2022. Daymond was jailed for life, and Maya's mum Dana Carr was jailed for nine years after being found guilty of child cruelty by neglect and allowing the death of a child.
Archie's mum Katherine Errington, 29, was heartbroken to discover that Galbraith could be released at the halfway point of his jail term. Maya's family were also devastated to learn that Carr could be considered for an earlier release.
