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A FATHER-OF-FOUR who killed his girlfriend’s newborn son by shaking him so hard it caused his brain to haemorrhage has had his parole eligibility date cut by three years.
Matthew Andrew Riseley, 22, was jailed for eight years after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of 19-day-old Isaac James Lazarus on November 10, 2007.
But a Court of Appeal judge in Brisbane today found the incident may be explained as “an error of judgment by a tired and immature young man”.
The Supreme Court in Brisbane in May heard Riseley had caused the baby a “constellation of injuries” when he squeezed his chest and shook him repeatedly while the mother was sleeping in an adjacent room.
Isaac suffered haemorrhaging in his brain, retinas and optic nerves, severe bruising on his neck, and one of his ribs was cracked.
The baby also had a fractured leg caused by his limbs flailing while being shaken and two skull fractures that were consistent with being hit with severe force.
When the mother woke the next morning she noticed Isaac was pale and gasping for air and took him to hospital, but he died later that day. Riseley was sentenced to eight years’ jail and was labelled a serious violent offender, meaning he would have to serve at least six years before he would be eligible for parole.
However, the Queensland Court of Appeal today found Riseley’s prison sentence was “manifestly excessive” and removed the serious violent offence declaration.
He was also granted leave to appeal his sentence.
The court ruled Riseley would only have to serve three and a half years’ jail before becoming eligible for parole, meaning he could be out in May 2011.
In his written judgment, Justice Patrick Keane said there were mitigating circumstances, including no pre-planning, prolonged violence or use of a weapon.
“It is also, however, explicable as an error of judgment by a tired and immature young man who suffered serious social disadvantage and is of less than average intelligence,” Justice Keane wrote.
