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CHRISTINA with her late husband Frank.
No solace in new Zammit sentencing
Ailsa Cranna3/11/2005
EXCLUSIVE
THE widow of Frank Buckley says she takes no comfort from the extra 15 months one of his killers will spend behind bars.
Last week Christopher Zammit, 22, was ordered to serve an extra 15 months after Manchester Crown Court heard he threatened to take revenge on a key witness who testified against him.
But the news that Zammit now faces a longer time in jail has failed to pacify Frank Buckley's widow Christina.
"He got an extra 15 months but it should have been 15 years from the start," said the 43-year-old mum of two.
"Our family have always believed, and always will, that the sentences for all those involved in Frank's death were far too lenient.
"That's why we get no satisfaction from knowing that Zammit has merely been told to serve 15 more months."
Mrs Buckley added she was seeking another meeting with Salford MP and Home Office Minister Hazel Blears because her family 'felt badly let down by the system'.
Christopher Zammit, 22, was given an extended sentence after the court heard of his threats to 'get even' with a witness after his trial for manslaughter of Frank Buckley, who was kicked unconscious outside Yates's Wine Lodge in March 2004.
When Zammit was given a five year sentence last December, he was reported to have cheered from the dock and raised his fists in triumph to family members in the gallery.
And, as the court heard last week, he arrived at Forrest Bank Prison, in Agecroft 'in a happy mood because he felt he had received very much a light sentence.'
But when he was being processed by prison officers, he coincidentally came face-to-face with the taxi driver who had been a key witness at his trial and who was in the secure area waiting for a fare.
The court heard Zammit exploded into fury and repeatedly shouted at the driver, known as Mr A, saying 'You're going to get f*****g done.'
He later phoned his girlfriend and boasted about the incident. In a call which was recorded, he said: "I got off the bus and that taxi driver was parked up.
"I f*****g ran at his car and tried booting his car. He f*****g s**t himself. Screws held me back. I shouted 'You f*****g grassing b*****d.'"
Zammit, formerly of Coronation Street, Pendlebury, was subsequently arrested in prison this March and denied threatening Mr A but in court last week he admitted threatening to take revenge.
As he appeared in court, he smiled and waved to family and supporters in the public gallery.
Passing the 15 month sentence, which is to run consecutively, Judge Peter Larkin said: "An offence of threatening to take revenge on a witness must be taken very seriously and must be seen to be taken very seriously."
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7/11/2005 at 13:43
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