A man responsible for the death of a teenager who died in a collision has had a sentence for racially abusing a prison officer reduced on appeal.
Shabaz Ali, 28, was jailed for seven years and three months in 2015 for his part in causing the death of aspiring beautician Xana Doyle, 19.
He and his cousin Sakhawat Ali had been drinking and taking drugs, and "showing off", while Sakhawat Ali drove at speed along Usk Way, Newport.
The driver was distracted by Shabaz Ali who attempted to pull the handbrake from the rear passenger seat moments before the 60mph crash occurred, causing the stolen Toyota Avensis they were driving to hit the kerb, fly 10ft into the air and flipping onto its roof.
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While Shabaz and Sakhawat Ali crawled out of the wreckage and ran away, a 15-year-old girl and fatally injured Ms Doyle were left trapped inside.
Ms Doyle, from Newport, was believed to have died "almost instantly".
Shabaz Ali - who pleaded guilty to aggravated allowing to be carried in a vehicle involving a fatal accident - was jailed for seven years and three months.
Sakhawat Ali - who pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking and driving with excess alcohol - was sentenced to eight years and three months imprisonment.
Defendant Shabaz Ali was jailed again for eight weeks after admitting racially aggravated harassment of a prison officer at HMP Parc in Bridgend on December 1 last year.
He appeared at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday to appeal the sentence, after he was jailed at a separate hearing for a further 10 months for assaulting three staff members at St Cadoc's Hospital in Newport on December 19 last year.
Summarising the assault at HMP Parc, prosecutor Abigail Jackson said: "(Ali) was abusive towards staff and threw his chair against a cell door. Earlier in the day he called [the officer] a "f****** c***" and asked her for a pair of socks. She said she had to attend a meeting but when that meeting overran and [the officer] returned, it was clear (Ali) was unhappy at being made to wait.
"He threatened to break her jaw and said he could see her tattoos so would stake her out when he was released. He said he would get a smackhead to attack her and said he would follow her home to burgle her house.
Ms Jackson said Ali then verbally abused the officer with racist insults, during which he said he “hoped she would be crippled after being raped”.
As a result of this, Ali was placed in a segregation ward and the threats made the officer feel "fearful".
The court heard Ali had been recalled to prison at the time of the offence and is due to be released in April 2023.
Representing the appellant, Harry Baker said his client has "obviously got a lot of problems" and was suffering with mental health issues. But he claimed the eight-week sentence passed by the courts should have been dealt with at the same hearing when he was sentenced to 10-months imprisonment for the assault at St Cadoc's Hospital.
Recorder Dyfed Thomas agreed with Mr Baker's assertion that both sentencing exercises should have taken place at the same time, which would have resulted in Ali's sentence being reduced because of totality.
Ali's appeal was successful and his sentence of eight-weeks imprisonment was reduced to four-weeks imprisonment, to be served consecutive to the 10-month prison sentence.
Following the hearing, Xana Doyle's stepfather Tony Borg said: "It shows how pathetic the British justice system is. We have got hard faced criminals getting reduced sentences for pleading guilty to an offence. It's a joke...
"It's all down to technicalities and it doesn't mean anything to anyone he's caused injury to. I hope he gets what he gets and suffers every day."
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