Rhys Jones murderer in court bid to get his life sentence cut in HALF
A KILLER who gunned down a boy aged 11 is trying to get his life jail term cut, claiming he’s a model prisoner.
Sean Mercer was 16 when he killed schoolboy Rhys Jones.
But he is now arguing that he was a child himself when he was sentenced in 2008.
Rhys was killed as he ran home across a car park in August 2007.
Mercer was handed a life term for his murder and ordered to serve a minimum of 22 years.
He has completed half, but is entitled to a review because he was a youth when convicted.
His case is to be examined by a High Court judge.
If he is deemed to have made “exceptional progress” and “matured” since his conviction, he could have time knocked off his sentence, sparking fresh heartache for Rhys’s parents Mel and Steve Jones.
Mercer, now 29, had previously claimed the murder in Croxteth, Liverpool, was an accident.
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Last year it was reported that Mercer was the boss of a drugs gang within Frankland prison, County Durham.
He was also said to have influence over the distribution of mobile phones and alcohol to inmates.
A prison source previously said: “Mercer is the drugs kingpin inside Frankland.”
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