A violent racist offender, Michael Murray, previously granted a “last and final chance” by a judge after inflicting life-altering brain injuries on a student, has once more been exempted from incarceration.
Michael Murray, 22, received a suspended sentence for a glassing incident during a pub altercation, notwithstanding his several prior convictions.
Three years ago, he was cautioned that he would receive a final opportunity to reform his behaviour after his participation in an assault on German student Daniel Ezzedine, who was rendered crippled and required full-time care as a result of the incident, by being granted leniency from incarceration.
Michael Murray was afforded the opportunity to become a “valuable member of the community” following his appearance at Canterbury Crown Court shortly before Christmas, where he faced charges for assaulting a pub patron, threatening a neighbour, and damaging the residence he shared with his grandparents.
This occurred despite his being under a suspended prison sentence at the time, along with his grandfather voicing concerns regarding his grandson’s potential actions while under the influence of drugs and in possession of knives.
Michael Murray was reinstated his XL bully dog, which had been confiscated by the police, after his attorney effectively contended at his sentencing hearing on Tuesday that he was “a fit and proper person” to possess one.
Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, condemned the low punishment, asserting that he had encouraged Attorney General Richard Hermer to take action.
He possessed 13 previous convictions, one of which involved inflicting brain damage. Three years prior, a judge granted him a ‘last and final opportunity.’ Nevertheless, he has avoided incarceration once more. “Career criminals should be incarcerated,” he stated.
Michael Murray, hailing from Canterbury, was one of nine individuals implicated in the racially motivated assault on Daniel Ezzedine, who was 17 at the time, in the city centre during a post-examination excursion in June 2019.
Mr. Daniel Ezzedine had a debilitating brain damage, resulting in a permanent disability and need continuous care from his family following an assault involving a bag of bricks and severe kicks to the head. He spent over a year in the hospital, during which he underwent surgery to excise a portion of his brain and have metal plates implanted in his skull.
Merely six months prior, one of his siblings disclosed that Mr. Daniel Ezzedine, currently 22 years old, continues to depend on a wheelchair, is unable to move his right hand, and necessitates physiotherapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy. Samir Ezzedine remarked that none of the assailants, including one who was under 14 at the time, has expressed remorse in the past five years.
Michael Murray, at the age of 18, confessed to violent disorder about his involvement and was sentenced in June 2021 to a 15-month term in a young offenders’ institution, which was suspended for two years.
At that time he was told by Judge Simon James Mental it was “a last and final chance to mend and change” his ways and that he needed to “grow up and be a good father” to his then unborn child.
However, Michael Murray has continued to flout the law and has 13 previous convictions for 26 offences to his name.
At his latest court appearance before Christmas, prosecutor Lucy McGarr detailed how on April 6 last year Michael Murray glassed a man at the Seven Stars bar in Canterbury.
When police raided his home on an unrelated matter 10 days later it was discovered he did not have an exemption certificate for his dog.
Then, on April 19 he appeared before magistrates who gave him another suspended sentence order (SSO) for six offences relating to drugs, violence and driving matters.
Less than a month later he broke two doors and a window at his grandparents’ home in St Gregory’s Road and threatened to “smash in” a neighbour’s face while armed with knives.
Michael Murray was arrested and later pleaded guilty to two offences of affray, one of criminal damage, one of possessing a fighting dog and breach of an SSO.
Urging that he be given a community-based punishment, his defence lawyer James Burke said Michael Murray had matured while on remand in jail awaiting the court’s verdict and had served the equivalent of a 14-month sentence.
He added the defendant was now drug-free, had “some understanding” of his problems with “positive future goals” and was in a stable, two-year relationship. “This is a young man who has had a difficult and deprived background and upbringing,” explained the lawyer.
Judge Sarah Counsell agreed that Murray could be spared custody once more and be given what she described as a “tougher” punishment. Imposing a 12-month jail term suspended for 18 months, the judge noted his time in custody had been well spent and he was now drug-free.
She believed there was a “realistic prospect” of rehabilitation, stopping offending and becoming “a useful member of the community.”
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