‘It’s not even close to justice’: Mother of boy, 10, who was mauled to death by XL Bully dog named ‘Beast’ condemns prison sentences handed to owners as she vows to appeal after they were jailed for total of seven years

• Jack Lis, 10, died after being bitten by the killer XL Bully dog in November 2021
• Owner Brandon Hayden was jailed for four years and six months in June 
• Amy Salter was handed a three year sentence for her involvement in the death
• Mother Emma Whitfield said that the sentences are ‘not even close to justice’ 

The mother of a young boy, who was killed by a 7st dog named Beast, is demanding that its owners get longer prison sentences after her son’s tragic death.

Jack Lis, 10, died after being mauled by the killer XL Bully dog that weighed a ‘muscular’ 96.5lbs in November 2021 – and his mother Emma Whitfield has now set up a petition calling for justice. 

Amy Salter, 29, and Brandon Hayden, 19, were in charge of the raging animal when it launched an attack on schoolboy Jack in Caerphilly, South Wales.

Hayden was jailed for four years and six months while Salter was handed three years at Cardiff Crown Court.

But heartbroken Ms Whitfield has now set up a petition against the sentences and said it is ‘not even close to justice.’

Jack Lis, 10, was mauled to death by the killer XL Bully dog that weighed a ‘muscular’ 96.5lbs. His mother is now demanding that sentences of the dog’s owners should be longer 

Video stills of the dog named ‘Beast’ in the days before the fatal attack on Jack Lis, 10, who died from the horrific mauling in Caerphilly, South Wales

Emma, of Caerphilly, South Wales, said: ‘Deep down I’m not sure whether I will ever get the chance to appeal but I have to do everything in my power to try. If I don’t I will feel as though I have failed Jack.

‘For Brandon Hayden the courts said it was medium culpability because the dog wasn’t used as a weapon or for intimidation. If that dog can’t be deemed intimidating I really don’t know what can.

‘We’ve all seen the CCTV. The dog doesn’t take its eyes off that child for a very long time and it lunges at people. I wouldn’t ever want to even walk past that dog. To tell me that’s not intimidating is surely not right.’

A court heard Hayden had seen the dog advertised ‘for free’ on Facebook with a warning that it was ‘not good with other dogs.’

He was caught on CCTV cameras in the days leading up to the attack holding the animal on a lead as it lunged towards shoppers and children.

The footage also showed one boy dropping his scooter and running to hide behind a wall when Beast growled and pulled on the lead.

Hayden had bought the dog just five days before the attack on Jack and asked Amy Salter if it could live in her home.

Jack went to the address in Penyrheol, Caerphilly, on November 8 last year when he was attacked by Beast and suffered unsurvivable injuries.

Mother Emma said it is heartbreaking to know that Hayden could be released from prison without serving his full sentence.

She said: ‘To think he’ll be out in a couple of years for good behaviour.

‘He got four years and six months because some of the charges will run concurrently. I don’t want to say ignored but some of the charges seem to have not been acted on.

Jack’s heartbroken mother Emma Whitfield (pictured) has now set up a petition against the sentences and said it is ‘not even close to justice’

Brandon Hayden (left) and Amy Salter (right) were jailed at Cardiff Crown Court after admitting being in charge of a dog that mauled Jack Lis to death. Hayden was jailed for four years and six months while Salter was handed a three year sentence

‘Amy Salter stood laughing while that dog lunged at people and even children. She let it into her house with no protection for the dog and no protection for people from the dog. Why does she get away with one and a half years in prison?

‘When you break it down like that, how is that justice for the death of my son? It’s not even close to justice.

‘No sentence will ever be enough. But I do definitely think more could have been done.

‘This is why I need to try and appeal. I hope the response to the petition can show how much support we have and how many people disagree with the sentences passed.

‘I’ve spent days since the sentences were passed sifting through research and reading through guidelines.

‘I was told immediately after the sentences that because they fell within the sentencing guidelines there was no chance I would be able to appeal.

‘We’re just plodding on, I don’t know how else to express it. It’s still very much about taking it one step at a time, day by day for us.’

Emma, who lives with her partner and nine-year-old son, said she had never met Hayden or Salter.

She said: ‘I had no idea who Brandon Hayden was. I had seen Amy Salter before around the school while picking up the kids, but had never spoken to her.

‘I knew the type of people who hung around that shop and I stayed well away. Those people you see in the CCTV are always around there. It’s that kind of thing.

‘I’m a quiet person and hadn’t met many people in the area prior to all of this, even though I’ve lived here 11 years, but have since met a lot of people and spoken to them.

‘Without a doubt if I knew anything about that animal there is no way on Earth Jack would have gone in there. We always talked with the kids about how to stay safe around animals.’

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