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15-months for one-punch killer 'morally wrong'

Alex MossYorkshire
News imageAlicia Manners A smiling man and woman looking at the camera. The woman has dark shoulder length hair and is wearing a knitted mustard coloured top. She is stood closely next to a man, with their heads touching. He has short hair and facial stubble and is wearing a sand coloured t-shirt. Alicia Manners
Alicia Manners said before he was attacked, her brother was "outgoing and full of life"

The sister of a man who died seven years after being left brain damaged from a one‑punch attack has described the sentence given to his killer as "soul destroying and morally wrong".

Simon Hackett, who was assaulted by Jordan Docherty in 2015, died in 2022 after a series of medical complications linked to the blow.

In 2016, Docherty, of Studley Avenue, Bradford was sentenced to four years in a young offender institution for the attack, but, following the death, was charged with manslaughter and jailed for 15 months at Leeds Crown Court on Thursday.

Hackett's sister, Alicia Manners, said the punishment did not reflect the years her brother had spent suffering.

News imageAlicia Manners A man lying in a bed with a tube running over his chest and into his nose. The man has a visible injury to his skull. A woman is stood at his bedside holding his hand. She has long dark hair and is wearing a white face mask. Alicia Manners
In order to save his life, doctors had to cut away part of Simon Hackett's skull

Hackett was 35 when he was attacked by the then-20-year-old Docherty, following a party at the Buttershaw Lane Working Men's Club in Bradford in September 2015.

Manners said the impact of the punch had caused severe swelling and fluid on her brother's brain and doctors had to remove part of his skull to save his life.

News imageAlicia Manners A smiling woman stood closely next to man who is in a wheelcahir. She has long dark hair and is wearing a black long-sleeved top. In the background is a bed and medical equipment. Alicia Manners
The severity of his brain damage meant he was unable to walk, talk or do anything independently

The 39-year-old, who lives in Castleford, said: "He was then too poorly to go home and spent years in hospital before going to live in a care home.

"For the next seven years of his life he was nil by mouth - no food or water, everything was fed through a tube.

"He couldn't do anything for himself and was either bed bound or in a wheelchair.

"He wasn't able to talk or interact with his family."

In 2022, Hackett developed bronchitis pneumonia and died in April.

Because of the time taken to medically prove her brother's death was linked to the punch and for the case to be heard in court, Manners said the family had to endure a four year wait for justice.

News imageWest Yorkshire Police A custody image of a man with short light brown hair who is staring straight ahead.West Yorkshire Police
Jordan Docherty admitted manslaughter

She added: "Then to get that ridiculous sentence when you've waited so long for it, it's just soul destroying and morally wrong.

"I watched my brother deteriorate for all that time and that was incredibly hard, but then not to get justice for him in the end, it's one of the hardest things I've been through."

Several years after Hackett was injured, Docherty was jailed again for three years in 2021 for a similar attack on another man, who was also left with serious head injuries.

Manners said: "After serving time for what he did to my brother, he came out and did it again, which tells me he hasn't learnt anything."

Before her brother's attack, Manners described her sibling as "caring and full of life".

Growing up, she described him as "more of a father figure" and "shaped the person I am today".

News imageAlicia Manners A young boy and girl smiling stood with their arms stretched open on a beach. The girl is holding a plastic bucket and is wearing a red t- shirt and a denim skirt. The boy is stood next to a plastic bucket and is wearing colourful patterened shorts and a t-shirt with 'Puma' written on. Alicia Manners
Alicia recalled how they both loved going on holiday to their grandparent's caravan

Determined to make sure no other family endures the same experience, she now raises awareness of the dangers of single-punch attacks.

As well as working as a senior assistant principal for behavior and attitudes in a secondary academy, she gives talks and shares her story with young people.

She has visited more than 20 schools giving talks to thousands of pupils across Yorkshire.

"It's really emotionally draining doing it. I almost have to perform my way through it and then get in the car and have a breakdown," she said.

"But through this, Simon's name lives on and his legacy won't be forgotten.

"I know he'd be really proud of me."

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