Vandals who cut down Sycamore Gap tree sentenced in England to more than 4 years in prison

Los Angeles Times

3 days ago

LONDON — The vandals who cut down England's beloved Sycamore Gap tree were sentenced Tuesday to more than four years in prison for causing irreversible damage and serious distress.
The tree stood for nearly 150 years before Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers set out on dark and stormy night to carry out what a prosecutor called a 'moronic mission' to fell the majestic sycamore, which crashed down onto Hadrian's Wall.
Graham, 39, and Carruthers, 32, were each convicted of two counts of criminal damage — one for destroying the tree, the other for damaging the ancient wall.
Justice Christina Lambert sentenced the pair each to four years and three months in prison during the hearing at Newcastle Crown Court.
The tree, perched in a saddle between two hills, had been known to locals for its scenic setting, but became famous after a cameo in Kevin Costner's 1991 film 'Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.' It drew tourists, lovers, landscape photographers and those who spread the ashes of loved ones. It was voted English 'Tree of the Year' in 2016.
The two men had long denied cutting down the tree, but changed their tune as they faced their fate.
They both testified at trial that they had nothing to do with the vandalism, but a prosecutor said that they eventually admitted to the crime and blamed booze for the act.
Prosecutor Richard Wright said that it was a 'fanciful proposition' that they didn't intend to cut down the tree along Hadrian's Wall or realize what they were doing until it was too late.
'The court can be sure they were sober, prepared and planned to do what they did,' Wright said. He said that the pair should serve prison sentences between 18 months and four years.
The illegal felling in Northumberland National Park on Sept. 28, 2023, caused instant outrage and news quickly spread beyond the ancient wall built by Emperor Hadrian in A.D. 122 to protect the northwest frontier of the Roman Empire.
It wasn't Britain's biggest or oldest tree, but the sycamore was prized for its picturesque setting, symmetrically planted between two hills along the wall that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
'This iconic tree can never be replaced,' Andrew Poad, general manager of the heritage and nature conservation charity National Trust, said in a statement read in court by a prosecutor. 'It belonged to the people. It was a totemic symbol for many; a destination to visit whilst walking Hadrian's Wall, a place to make memories, take photos in all seasons; but it was also a place of sanctuary.'
One man wielded a chainsaw while the other captured the felling on grainy video on a cellphone. Prosecutors couldn't say who cut down the tree and who memorialized the senseless act, but both were equally culpable.
In less than three minutes, the tree that had stood nearly 150 years crashed to the ground.
Carruthers will have to carry the burden for his actions like a 'form of personal penance,' attorney Andrew Gurney said.
'It was no more than drunken stupidity,' Gurney said, 'and something he would regret for the rest of his life.'
At trial, the two men — once the best of friends who have fallen out since their arrests — testified they were at their respective homes on the night of the crime and downplayed their expertise working with chainsaws.
But evidence shown to the jury implicated both men.
Graham's Range Rover was near the tree around the time it fell. Video of the felling was found on his phone — with metadata showing that it was shot at the location of the tree.
As digital data showed Graham's vehicle on its way back to where the two lived about 40 minutes away, Carruthers got a text from his girlfriend with footage of their 12-day-old son.
'I've got a better video than that,' Carruthers replied.
The jury didn't hear evidence of a motive for the crime, but Wright suggested in his closing argument that the two had been on a 'moronic mission' and cut down the tree as a joke.
'They woke up the morning after and ... it must have dawned on them that they couldn't see anyone else smiling,' Wright said.
Melley writes for the Associated Press.