Two of the men involved in the explosion that took place 15 years ago at the main square in Paola, killing a young mother and her baby, had their life sentence reduced to 20 years in jail.

This means that the two men will walk free in three years’ time.

John Polidano, 52, from Zurrieq, and Saviour known as Silvio Pace, 39, from Paola, were both jailed for life in connection with the arson at Polidano’s photo studio, Oxford Studio, in Paola.

The arson provoked an explosion that killed 24-year-old Yvette Bonnici and her 18-month-old son Sean on 18 March 1992.

The two, together with Vincent Spiteri, who was jailed for five years, were also found guilty of setting fire to the studio in order to bag insurance money. They had been jailed for life after a trial by jury in February 2002.

Polidano and Pace asked the Criminal Appeals Court to reduce their penalty as they deemed that the judge who presided over the trial gave a wrong interpretation of the law which led to a wrong administration of justice. They also held that the jurors could not find them guilty without reasonable doubt; therefore they were given too harsh a penalty.

In the appeal judgment given yesterday, the court deemed that in delivering their verdict the jurors had requested clemency for both of the accused; however, then judge Patrick Vella had refused the request and jailed the men for life.

The Criminal Appeals Court, presided over by Mr Justice Gino Camilleri, Mr Justice Raymond C. Pace and Mr Justice David Scicluna held that the court should have kept to the jury’s request and shown clemency.

It also held that the men, although they committed a crime, did not do it with the intent of killing anyone.

Lawyers Giannella Caruana Curran, Emmanuel Mallia, José Herrera and Roberto Montalto appeared for the two men.