THANK God for common sense. I was more than relieved to read in the Guardian (April 24) that the Attorney General has referred the case of Stephen Faulkner to be reviewed by the Appeal Court.

When his sentence was originally announced, I was dumbfounded that someone who had admitted the manslaughter of his wife and 15-year-old son had only been given a three-and-a-half-year jail sentence.

It is inconceivable that a judge could treat the lives of two people so lightly.

Since your original report, I have been looking at sentences for other crimes as they've appeared in the news.

You get armed robbers and thieves getting much longer terms that Faulkner was given.

But it seems that if you take someone's life, it's not half as bad.

If that isn't likely to advocate killing, I don't know what is. If someone is fed up with someone to the extreme, they'd only have to give up two years of their life to rid of them completely.

What sort of justice system is that? I sincerely hope the Attorney General takes a proper look at this case, and gives Faulkner the sentence he deserves.

His now deceased wife and son at least deserve some justice. Hopefully, the Attorney General will speak up on their behalf, as unfortunately, they're not here to defend themselves.

P. COOPER, Woodford Green.

April 30, 2003 10:00