Lanarkshire dad who left tragic baby without food for days has 14-month jail sentence quashed by appeal judges

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Coatbridge dad who admitted neglecting his infant daughter after she died is a free man again after the jail sentence he had imposed on him was quashed by appeal judges.Michael Conroy, 28, failed to provide proper nourishment and fluids for 19-month-old Keira and left her alone and unattended for excessive periods at a house in his home town's Greenwood Crescent.

Conroy was jailed for 14 months earlier this year at Airdrie Sheriff Court after admitting wilfully neglecting the child between December 18 and 20, 2017, in a way likely to cause her unnecessary suffering or injury to health.

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Keira, who was born premature, was found pale and cold and attempts at resuscitation failed.But Lawyers acting for Conroy successfully challenged the prison sentence imposed on him at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh.Defence counsel Craig Findlater told appeal judges: "The wilful neglect in this case was not directly linked to the death of the child."This is not a case where there was an overriding callousness or vindictiveness.