Two men were recently convicted of cutting down the famed Sycamore Gap tree in 2023, a beloved British landmark, in what a prosecutor described as a “moronic mission.”
According to a release from the Crown Prosecution Service in the United Kingdom, a Newcastle Crown Court jury found 39-year-old Daniel Graham and 32-year-old Adam Carruthers guilty of two counts of criminal damage related to the felling of the tree in September 2023 and the resulting damage to the historic Hadrian’s Wall.
The tree, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was prominently featured in 1991’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and has stood near Hadrian’s Wall since its planting in the late nineteenth century, according to the CPS.
However, around the night of September 27, 2023, and the early hours of September 28, Carruthers and Graham traveled from Carlisle to Northumberland, where they cut down the tree with a chainsaw before returning to Carlisle with a section.
“For over a century, Sycamore Gap has been an iconic natural landmark in the North East of England, bringing immeasurable joy to those visiting the area,” Gale Gilchrist, chief prosecutor at CPS North East, said in a statement. “In just under three minutes, Graham and Carruthers ended its historic legacy in a deliberate and mindless act of destruction.”
According to Gilchrist, word of the pair’s mission “spread the following day,” as they were “revelling in the public outcry they had caused.”
“Thanks to an outstanding investigation on the part of our police partners, the Crown Prosecution Service was able to build a robust case against both men and bring them to trial,” according to the prosecutor.
“The international reaction of disapproval and anger following the destruction at Sycamore Gap illustrates how keenly the public has felt the loss of this beloved site, and we hope our community can take some measure of comfort in seeing those responsible convicted today.”
Carruthers and Graham will be sentenced at a later date, according to the CPS.
According to CBS News, Justice Christina Lambert will sentence the men on July 15, and they will face “a lengthy period” in jail. The maximum criminal damage sentence is ten years in prison, according to the outlet.
According to The Guardian, prosecutor Richard Wright KC described the crime as a “moronic mission” and the “arboreal equivalent of mindless thuggery,” with the men’s trial lasting eight days.
According to CBS, during the trial, the jury saw footage of the tree being cut down on Graham’s phone, which was later sent to Carruthers. The prosecutor stated that, while it was unclear who cut the tree, both men were the only ones with access to the footage.
The following day, both men appeared to discuss coverage of their crime via text and voice messages, with Wright claiming that they did so for “a bit of a laugh.” They later testified that they had nothing to do with it, with Graham blaming Carruthers, according to CBS.
“Up and down the country and across the world, the reaction of all right-thinking people to the senseless felling of the Sycamore Gap tree has been one of sadness and anger,” Wright said, as reported by The Guardian. “Who would do such a thing?” Why would someone do such a thing? Take something beautiful and destroy it for no apparent reason.
He went further: “Far from being the big men they thought they were, everyone else thought that they were rather pathetic.”
According to CBS News, the value of the tree will also play a role in sentencing, with prosecutors initially claiming it was worth around $830,000 — plus an additional $1,500 for wall damages. Prosecutor Rebecca Brown later stated that the figures are likely lower.
According to the BBC, Northumbria Police stated after the sentencing that the men provided no explanation for the crime and that there could “never be a justifiable one.”