A man who shook his one-month-old son to death will not get an extended prison sentence following an appeal. 

James Lawton, of Boreham Field, Wiltshire, was jailed in November 2021 after being convicted of murdering baby Colby in Newbury in May 2020. 

The 28-year-old was given a life sentence to serve a minimum of 17 years in jail. 

But an application to ask the Court of Appeal to consider prolonging the convict’s jail time was recently made under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme. 

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The scheme allows members of the public to ask the Attorney General’s office to examine sentences handed down by Crown Courts if they believe the sentence is not strong enough or if they believe there was an error in the sentence. 

However, the Attorney General dismissed the application. 

A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office explained why. 

They told the Chronicle: “The Solicitor General was shocked by this case and wishes to express his sympathies to Colby's family.

 “After careful consideration, the Solicitor General has concluded that this case cannot properly be referred to the Court of Appeal. 

“A referral under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme to the Court of Appeal can only be made if a sentence is not just lenient but unduly so, such that the sentencing judge made a gross error or imposed a sentence outside the range of sentences reasonably available in the circumstances of the offence. 

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“The threshold is a high one, and the test was not met in this case.”

Lawton was convicted of murder following a four-week trial at Reading Crown Court in November 2021. 

At the trial, the court heard how on Saturday 9 May 2020, officers were called to an address in Fountain Gardens, Ashridge Court by South Central Ambulance Service following reports that a one-month-old baby boy was in cardiac arrest.

The baby was taken to hospital for treatment but tragically later died.

Lawton had caused multiple injuries to his son, including a skull fracture he inflicted in the days before his death for which he was convicted of grievous bodily harm.