A judge handed down 10 life sentences with minimum terms of eight to 17 years at Newcastle Crown Court on Friday morning for the murder of 18-year-old Woodley, who died a day after an unprovoked attack by a group of boys in Houghton-le-Spring, Sunderland , last October. One of the killers, none of whom can be named because they were aged between 14 and 17 at the time of the killing, stabbed Woodley in the fight with a Rambo-style knife, while others punched and kicked him after chasing him. an alley But the parents of two of the boys said their children were not murderers and should not have been convicted. The younger boy, who had just turned 14 at the time of the murder, was diagnosed with a learning disability during the trial and described as having the mental age of 10. He was sentenced to a minimum of eight years. His mother said her son understands he should face punishment for trying to kick Woodley, which he admitted in a police interview, but “doesn’t understand why he’s being murdered.” “That’s the hardest part, trying to explain to him that it’s a joint venture.” Joint enterprise is used to convict those who participated in planning or assisted in carrying out a crime such as murder, especially in cases of gang warfare. The mother of another boy, who was filmed kicking Woodley but was not with the group until the moments before the killing and left before the violence was over, said it was a “huge shock”. The boy, now 16, broke down in tears as the 11-year sentence was handed down, which took into account the mandatory minimum of 12 years for a child who has committed murder. In the judge’s words, there was “very little evidence of how he came to be at the scene” as there were no witnesses to his involvement and, unlike the other boys, the judge said he had not gone to the fair expecting to commit violence . The woman said: “He should never have been found guilty if he hadn’t murdered anyone. He was not involved, there were no eyewitnesses. “The most shocking thing is that he should not be found guilty of a crime he did not commit.” The five-week murder trial heard how Woodley was ambushed at Houghton Fest on October 16 by one of the boys and chased by the group, who met him outside the Britannia Inn and punched, kicked and stamped on him, eventually stabbing him twice . Although the fatal stab wound was inflicted by a 15-year-old who earlier that day had bragged that he planned to stab someone, the other nine boys were convicted under controversial joint enterprise laws, which allowed them to be convicted of murder together even if he did not deliver the blow that killed him. On Monday, Judge Jameson heard Woodley’s parents describe how they were “trying to cope” with their son’s death. In her victim impact statement, his mother, Zoe McGill, told the court:[We] don’t think we can ever attend another exhibition as it will bring back such painful memories. This has ruined the lives of our families and life will never be the same without Jack.” The legal representatives of nine of the 10 teenagers announced plans to appeal.