Manchester woman who glassed another woman has sentence increased

A woman found guilty of glassing another woman in a Manchester bar has had her sentence increased after the Solicitor General, Rt Hon Michael Ellis QC MP, referred it to the Court of Appeal for being too low.

In April 2018, Rachael Marland, aged 34 at the time of the offence, was at a bar in Manchester on a Sunday evening. At about 5:30pm, the 35 year old victim arrived at the same bar with a friend.

The victim’s friend was known to the offender. After a hurtful exchange of words between the offender and the two women, the victim, fearing matters could escalate, put her hand on the offender’s shoulder and asked her to walk away.

The offender pushed the victim away and picked up a glass from a nearby table. She then struck two blows to the victim’s face. The glass shattered and the victim suffered two wounds to her face, one not far from her eye.

Rachael Marland was originally sentenced at Manchester Crown Court in February, where she was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months’ imprisonment.

Today, following the Solicitor General’s referral, the Court of Appeal has increased her sentence to 4 years’ imprisonment.

Speaking after the hearing, the Solicitor General said:

“This woman’s temper resulted in a callous attack on the victim who has suffered permanent scarring and long-lasting psychological pain as a result. It is fitting that the court decided to increase the prison sentence to reflect the harm she has caused.”