I'm sure I'll get shot down for this but it's really not a surprise his sentence was reduced and legally it was the correct decision. His original sentence was higher than other comparable cases. Sentencing has to be fair and across the board. Just because it was a particularly abhorrent crime doesn't mean the guidelines can be ignored.
It's the guidelines that are the issue here rather than the judges decision today.
Agreed, I think the article on BBC Alesha MacPhail killer has sentence cut said it's still the longest sentence ever given to a minor in Scotland, so it's fair, even if we don't like it. The problem in my mind is that in Britain as a whole, sentences are too low - he's still got a far longer sentence than many adult murderers get! I can appreciate the idea of second chances for children, if they show signs of being rehabilitated, but I think at his age, and with what he did, he's unlikely to fit that category... but relatively speaking, this is still even now an exceptionally long sentence for someone of his age. It's about as good as it could get within the current system I think.