The daughter of a fun-loving pensioner who was fatally punched in Bury has criticised the length of the sentence handed out to his attacker and has launched an appeal.
Her father, Michael Dawson, 78, died after being punched in the head following an altercation in the town centre last year.
Nathan Pilling, 24, of Deal Street, Bury, was sentenced to five years and four months in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter.
Michael’s daughter Jennifer Fisch says that “justice has not been done".
READ MORE: Bury author set to host book launch sharing ancestor's war diaries
She said: “I think it [the sentencing] was unduly lenient. I’ve seen a lot of comments online about the case, with other people saying the same thing too.
“In an ideal world, I’d like him to be serving at least 20 years for what he did. I don’t understand how someone so violent could be out on the streets again so soon.
“People don’t always realise the consequences of making snap decisions but there must be responsibly taken for it.
“That is certainly not the way I thought my father would die - to get that phone call was devastating.”
Pilling had three previous convictions including assaulting emergency service workers in 2019.
He initially pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter charge before changing his plea to guilty on the first day of the trial.
READ MORE: Bury athlete credits community spirit after 'record-breaking' triathlon achievement
Jennifer added: “When I saw him [Pilling] in court, I looked at him directly and told him how he’s ruined our lives. He just seemed really cold, like he didn’t care.
“He had the opportunity to walk away after the initial altercation with my dad, but he didn’t. He chose to come back.
"I feel like he [Piling] was out looking for trouble that night.”
Michael had been out with a friend at The Bank pub on Market Street on the night of August 24 last year.
CCTV footage showed him leaving the pub and walking on Market Street before pointing towards Nathan Pilling, who was riding an electric bike on the pavement on the other side of the road.
Pilling then rode across the road, got off his bike and put it against a rail and then stood directly in front of Mr Dawson as a confrontation took place.
During the argument, Pilling, who was aged 23 at the time, twice moved away to leave but when he returned for the final time he punched Michael to the head, causing him to fall to the ground, where he became motionless.
Two men, who were outside The Bank, rushed over with one trying to stop Pilling from riding away and the other checking Michael.
READ MORE: Parents leading way in pledge for children not to be given smartphone until age of 14
Footage also showed Pilling later managing to escape from a number of people who had gathered. But he was arrested nearby and initially lied about what happened.
Michael was taken to hospital where it was found he had suffered a fractured skull and bleed on the brain and transferred to intensive care.
His brain injuries were discovered to be “irreversible” and life support was switched off on September 4 last year.
In victim impact statements read out in court, Michael was described as “wonderful man” who was the “head of the family” and was kind, “always wanted to make people laugh” and loved walking, music and singing.
Jennifer said: “My dad was the best.
"He was the funniest granddad and so good to us all. He thought about others before himself and carried out regular charity work, driving cancer patients to hospital.
“He was a very kind man. We would spend Christmas together, maybe watch ‘Dirty Dancing’ then sing karaoke to Christmas songs. He loved singing so much.”
The grandfather-of-four liked to travel and met his late wife Poppy in South Africa.
Michael was also preparing for trips to the Isle of Man and London when he died.
Jennifer said: “I don’t think I’ve taken in it all on yet to be honest. It just feels like my dad is still on holiday.
"It’s been such a long process that we haven’t had chance to properly grieve.
“My dad was a good, law-abiding citizen and would always do the right thing. He brought me up to fight for what’s right so that is what I’ll be doing now.”
The family have lodged a formal appeal against the decision.
The Attorney General's Office confirmed that they have received a request for the sentence to be considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel