VIDEO: Family of 17-year-old manslaughter victim say they have been ‘robbed of justice’

Harnaryan Johal, aged 18, of Newbury Drive, Daventry, was today found guilty lof involuntary manslaughter but not guilty of murdering his friend Stanley Harrison following an argument in the early hours of June 14.

Johal was sentenced to five years and three months in prison. Judge Rupert Mayo said he would serve half in prison, so taking into account the time he has already served in custody, Johal will be in jail for just over two years.

Following the verdict, Stanley’s family released a statement in which they said they had been left “devastated” by Stanley’s death.

The statement read: “With this verdict, we feel that Stanley has been robbed of his life and now of justice too.

“We believe that his ‘friend’, Ryan Johal, did mean to murder him, with jealousy being the motive.

“Stanley loved life and enjoyed it to the full. He was no different to any other teenager and he did not deserve to have his life cut short in this way.

“we are devastated that we have lost Stanley and life will never be the same again, especially for his mother.

“He was the love of her life and her soul mate. She is left empty and devoid of life without him.

“We would like to thank the police for all they have done for us during this dreadful time. They have been very supportive of us all.”

Judge Rupert Mayo, sentencing, said Johal had not intended to kill Stanley or seriously harm him but had drew a knife when he was “very annoyed” with him.

Judge Mayo said: “In June of last year you killed your best friend.

“From the age of four to 17 years old your lives were bound together and so were the lives of your two families.

“One of the most poignant prts of this case was that Stanley called your mother ‘mum’ as well.

“The sad part of your relationship was that in the years before Stanley died you and he consumed considerable amounts of alcohol and later introduced cocaine to your weekend habit.”

Judge Mayo said the alcohol and cocaine had the effect of “releasing the inhibitions” of Johal.

He said: “You assaulted Stanley not meaning to kill him and not meaning to do him serious harm. It was the pushing of him that caused his death.

“You drew a knife on Stanley because you were very annoyed with him.”

Judge Mayo said the relationship between Johal and Stanley’s families would never be the same and he would live with what he had done “forever.”