Relatives of manslaughter victims have told of their dismay at seeing Adam Carruthers and Daniel Graham locked-up for longer than those that took the lives of their loved ones
17:40, 16 Jul 2025Updated 19:13, 16 Jul 2025
(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
Heartbroken loved ones of violence victims have today told of their dismay at the sentence handed to the men that cut down the Sycamore Gap tree. Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were yesterday jailed for four years and six months after being convicted criminal damage in connection with the felling of the iconic landmark.
Their sentences has been welcomed by some that say their actions, described in court as a “moronic mission” deprived the region of the irreplaceable tree that had stood proudly in Northumberland National Park for 200 years.
But they left relatives of some manslaughter victims devastated when they discovered the vandals had been locked-up for longer than those that killed their loved ones.
Lee Devlin, 40, died after he was knocked to the ground with a single punch in Whitley Bay in 2014. A 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to just two years in a young offenders’ institution.
His twin sister Claire, 51, said: “Four years for cutting a tree down. That’s insulting for people that have lost someone. Yes it was stupid, but they never killed anyone.
***Collect pic*** of the late Lee Devlin and his sister Claire Devlin. Photo supplied by Lee’s mother Lynn Annis of Wallsend, Newcastle
“Surely taking a life should mean the longest sentence. It’s like they are saying a tree is worth more than a life. It’s not like the grief we feel. It is an insult to Lee. It hurts when you hear stuff like that.”
Lee was making his way back to the Lenore care home where he lived after visiting Claire in Howdon, Wallsend, when he crossed paths with a group of teens near Whitley Bay Metro Station, on the night of Friday, September 12, 2014. He was knocked to the ground with a single punch, Newcastle Crown Court heard,
Two passing teenagers found him and called an ambulance. But nothing could be done to save Lee’s life and he was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.
Claire Devlin(Image: Simon Greener/Newcastle Chronicle)
Lee’s loved ones’ devastation was only intensified when they were told his killer would serve less than a year in a young offenders’ institution as part of a two-year detention and training order. They wrote to the Attorney General in a bid to get the sentence increased, but their pleas were rejected.
“When we went to court we actually got told the minimum he would get would be four years,” Claire, 51, continued. “It doesn’t feel like 11 years, I still break down. People say it gets easier but it doesn’t, you just learn to cope with it in your own way.
“People will forget about the tree, but grief stays with you a life time.”
Dionne Barrett(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
Dionne Barrett’s 14-year-old son Gordon Gault died in hospital six days after he was stabbed with a machete in Newcastle’s West End in 2022.
Six teenagers stood trial for Gordon’s murder, but all were cleared of the charge in January last year. Carlos Neto, then 18, of Salford Greater Manchester and Lawon Natty, of Eastgrath in Newbiggin Hall, Newcastle, were convicted of manslaughter. Neto was jailed for nine years and two months. while Natty, who purchased the machete online received a sentence of just two years and eight months.
Dionne, 39, was left devastated last summer when she was told Natty had been freed early as part of a scheme to reduce prison overcrowding, meaning he spent just months in jail
Lawson Natty(Image: PA)
And she said she was lost for words when she discovered Graham and Carruthers would be locked-up for longer than her son’s killer.
“They have got longer than Natty got,” she said. “It’s shocking. How can you cut a tree down then got longer than somebody who has killed someone? I was lost for words when I saw it. It was really upsetting. It’s crazy, I still can’t get my head around it. It’s hard to even speak about it and discuss how I feel because it just doesn’t make sense.”
“That’s criminal damage, it’s not taking someone’s life. They can plant another tree, I can’t get Gordon back. There’s no good that can come from what happened to Gordon. Do judge’s think trees are worth more than people?
Gordon Gault(Image: PA)
“They said they let Natty out because the prison’s are full, then they lock these two up.”
Margaret Smith whose 16-year-old son was stabbed to death in Benwell, Newcastle, in 2007, has never felt like she got justice for her beloved boy. Trainee mechanic Mark was knifed in the neck by another 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons. But the youth was locked up for just 18 months after pleading guilty to manslaughter at Newcastle Crown Court.
Margaret told the Chronicle she does not believe Graham and Carruthers should have been jailed at all, never mind for longer than the person that killed her son.
Margaret Smith mum of Mark Smith who was stabbed to death i
“I think it’s absolutely terrible,” she said. “Them blokes should never ever in their wildest dreams get time in prison my my son’s killer got just 18 months in prison. I wish I had got that judge for my son, it’s just unbelievable. They did not harm a person. I thought about Mark within seconds when I heard. When you compare that sentence to someone that has cut a tree down It’s absolutely horrendous.
“Yes they have done really wrong, it’s a beautiful tree, but they should get a hefty fine and community service.”
Graham, 39, and Carruthers, 32, both from Cumbria, took a chainsaw to the famous tree overnight in September 2023.
Mark Smith(Image: newcastle chronicle)
Their actions sparked anger, upset and condemnation from around the world. The pair were convicted of criminal damage following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court.
Sentencing Judge Mrs Justice Lambert said while their motivation was not clear, “sheer bravado” was a factor in what they had done and said the reaction afterwards “gave you some kind of thrill”.
The judge referred to “heartfelt messages” from members of the public about the tree and her own impression from media accounts of “widespread shock and bewilderment”. She added: “For those who live in Northumberland or who love this county, the tree had become a landmark, a symbol of the beauty of the untamed landscape, featuring prominently in local art and local tourism.
Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers in police mugshots(Image: Northumbria Police/AFP via Getty)
“For others, the tree had become a place of special, personal significance, where marriages were proposed and personal tributes to loved ones were left. It was a place of peace and tranquillity, to which people returned year after year and the public reaction has extended far beyond those who had visited the tree.”