Courtney Eaton, 17, was stabbed four times by another teenager who had drunk half a bottle of brandy.
The former Junior British racing bike champion, described as a 'gentle giant' died three hours later as surgeons battled to save his life.
After the killer, Stuart Fagan, 18, was locked up for eight years at Manchester Crown Court, Courtney's distraught mum, Lisa Diamond said the extent of her grief could not be put into words.
She said: "I tried to be a good parent, but you feel like you have failed at the end because I wasn't there when he needed me most."
But she also slammed the legal process which led to Fagan only getting eight years.
She said: "I take no pleasure from the sentence - I get no pleasure from anything at the moment. It just feels wrong and unfair that he is going to do this amount of time for a life which has been taken.
Gentle giant
"I have nothing to focus on now following Courtney's death. He was a gentle giant who always had the biggest smile on his face and he loved life, his friends and his bikes.
"I do think the law is all for the defendant because they seem to be the victims.
"His family have not shown any remorse and his parents have never said 'sorry'. This sentence is not a deterrent to people carrying knives."
Fagan, of Bridgewater Street, Eccles, had been cleared of murdering Courtney but was convicted of manslaughter.
He had the knife in his pocket claiming he wanted it because he had been the victim of previous bullying and violence and planned to use the weapon to warn off others.
But during a confrontation with Courtney and some of his friends during which his younger brother was insulted and his girlfriend was hit with an umbrella, Fagan took out the knife and seconds later Courtney was stabbed in the stomach, side and buttock.
His counsel, Gudrun Young said Fagan was 'extremely sorry' and wanted to express his remorse to the victim's family and the pain he had caused them.
But Mr Justice Maddison said Fagan had no excuse for being armed with the knife and could easily have left the scene before the row started.
The judge said he was sentencing Fagan on the grounds that he was provoked before the stabbing but it was clear he intended to cause serious harm.
He said: "There is serious and justifiable public concern about the carrying and the use of knives and the courts must do what they properly can to discourage the carrying and use of such weapons.
"You took away the life of a man aged only 17 with most of his natural life ahead of him and his death has brought irretrievable loss and irreparable grief to his family and friends.
"There are simply no winners in cases such as this. Sentences rarely please anyone. Those associated with the deceased usually think the sentence should be longer given that a life has been lost and those associated with the defendant usually think the sentences should be shorter." Tweet
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20 years min again he was armed with a knife, so there is premeditation which is what is needed to prove murder, people have insulted me in the past but I don't stab them I get on with it then the Judge reads out this statement
"There are simply no winners in cases such as this. Sentences rarely please anyone. Those associated with the deceased usually think the sentence should be longer given that a life has been lost and those associated with the defendant usually think the sentences should be shorter."
The winner is the knife carrier out in 4 with the promise of a job and his whole life ahead of him.
Once again the victims and their families suffer,This isnt justice Anybody who carries a knife and uses it ,the crime should always be murder not manslaughter when you carry a knife on the street your intentions are not for any use only hurting people.
The trigger in these types of cases, as reported week after week, is alcohol.
Drunk to excess it is a poison to the brain and causes untold damage to the innocent victims and their families. Legislate all you want about knives, longer sentences, etc but once alcohol is in the system everything goes out the window.
it seems we've got a load of stories of injustice today!
let hope the judges take notice!
the law is there to protect good people! not the criminals!
This is the third example in 3 days of murder being prosecuted as manslaughter. The legal system in this country is a joke. When are people going to be convicted for their actions?
If you violently throw a glass ashtray in to a crowded area or use a knife, and someone dies, how can this be manslaughter? The result is a dead person, therefore the crime prosecuted should be murder.
Only one answer. Remove this scumbag from the human gene pool before he gets a chance to breed.
Another thug with the 'Spock' ears, do they all have the same father?
Once again justice out the window - thought yesterdays judge would have set a precedent with the proper jail time he doled out. Back to the status quo!
should of been lifed up
Stuart Fagin, claimed, "He had the knife in his pocket , because he previously had been a victim of bullying and planned to use the weapon to warn off others"
Although, you can not tell a book from its cover, looking at Fagins eyes, he certainly does not look like the sort of person, who counld be easily intimidated or bullied, other way round, in my humble opinion.
Anyone found carrying a knife should have it swapped for a truncheon and given a metropolitan police uniform and packed off to London to deal with peaceful protesters.
The sentence is far too low. This criminal should be off our streets for decades and offered advice on how he voluntarily end his stay in prison should he so wish.
Another ludicrous sentence! The knife/gun carrying trend could be sorted overnight by introducing a mandatory minimum sentance for carrying such a weapon. 10 years minimum with no ifs or buts and the full sentence to be served. If the weapon is used then it's 10 years plus.
Causing death by dangerous driving, in a stolen car, should be treated as murder.
Any person who commits a crime of violence and is found to have carried a weapon such as a knife or a gun, should automatically have a ten year period added to any sentence that they get for that crime. There appears to be little deterrent for carrying a weapon. My sympathy is entirely with the family and friends of the deceased. Difficult though it is for parents of teenagers, they should strive to have their sons and daughters safe at home at a reasonable hour. Most violent crime occurs after drink and in the early hours of the morning.
Visitor caught taking drugs in Bali - 'Death Sentence', and it has been carried out in a number of cases. Other commuted to 25 years in prison.
Found guilty of lighting 21 bush fires in Australia with no human lives lost -12 years.
Murder in the UK - 8 years. Sorry that should be manslaughtered, it some how appears to be a better death.
something must be done about these stupid short sentences, you cant blame booze all the time, i like a drink and sometimes get drunk but i dont throw bottles or stab people, there must be other ways to make people pay for their crimes, the only sure thing is that our judges must be living in another life and on a different planet
Another soft sentence for a terrible crime!He went out carrying a knife with the intent to use it on another humanbeing.I repeat INTENT in my eyes and if I am not mistaken the letter of law this means murder not manslaughter,I always thought manslaughter was accidentally killing somebody.If you carry a weapon with the intent of using it then it should always be murder and dealt with by a Life sentence that means Life for in this example poor Courtney has no life left so his killer should forfeit his!!!
prisons must be getting full again