Men escape death penalty over Thai murder

The two men who admitted killing British student Katherine Horton while she was on holiday in Thailand will escape the death penalty, according to reports.

Bualoy Kothisit and Wichai Sonkhaoyai now face sentences of life imprisonment for the murder, after a foreign office spokesman confirmed to the BBC that the death penalty has been dropped.

The fishermen were arrested within 48 hours of the New Year's Day attack in which they beat Ms Horton with a parasol pole, raped her and then dumped her out at sea where she drowned.

The world's media descended upon Thailand in the aftermath of the murder and the Thai authorities called for a swift punishment in an effort to avoid further fears for the country's tourism industry, ravaged a year earlier by the Boxing Day tsunami.

However, Ms Horton's mother, Elizabeth Horton, told BBC Wales that she didn't support the death penalty.

"I don't believe anyone has the right to take another person's life," she noted.

"But a life sentence should mean life. The Thai authorities will deal with it as they see fit. I would not want to interfere with the Thai legal system."

The two men's lawyer told stated that the court had "commuted" their death sentences because the pair admitted to the crime.