Judges slash knifepoint rapist's "excessive" sentenceA Bedworth man who raped a woman before forcing her to wash away evidence in a bath had his sentence cut by judges.
Following his conviction, Whitehall received a 12 year sentence at Warwick Crown Court. for rape and making a threat to kill.
But today, after an appeal to top judges, Whitehall's "manifestly excessive" sentence was cut to ten years.
Mrs Justice Laing told the Court of Appeal that too much weight had been given to aggravating features of the case.
"We quash the sentence of 12 years' imprisonment and substitute for it a sentence of ten years," she said.
Lawyers for Whitehall argued that the trial judge had placed too much weight on the threats when sentencing.
The violence used did not go beyond that which is inherent in an offence of rape, appeal judges were told.
Ruling, Mrs Justice Laing said the victim had been "humiliated and degraded" by Whitehall.
That justified a long sentence, but not as much as 12 years, she added.
The judge, sitting with Lord Justice Gross and Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, cut the sentence to ten years.