ONE of the men convicted for his part in the knife murder of Jourdan Griffiths has won the chance for an early parole after top judges cut the length of his minimum sentence.

Lotto Williams, 20, formerly of Whitelands Road, High Wycombe, was found guilty along with two other High Wycombe men of killing 20-year-old Jourdan, although it is still not known which one of them inflicted the fatal stab wound.

Williams was jailed for a minimum of 14 years at Reading Crown Court in June last year.

But that minimum term, also known as a tariff, was yesterday cut to 11 years by judges at London's Criminal Appeal Court, after his lawyers argued the original sentence was "excessive".

The judges dismissed bids by Williams and his accomplices - Kieren George, 18, of Spearing Road, and Christopher Joseph, 23, of Grenfell Road - to challenge their murder convictions.

All three men had been found guilty last year as 'secondary parties' to murder, which meant jurors decided they each knew that a knife would, or could, be used to kill or cause serious injury.

The court heard Mr Griffiths died from a single stab wound, inflicted by one of the three at a squat in White Hart Street, High Wycombe, on June 29, 2009.

Lord Justice Moses, sitting with Mr Justice Roderick Evans and Mr Justice Spencer, told the court the prosecution case was the three men had gone to the squat to steal drugs.

The judge said CCTV footage showed all three had been to the squat shortly before the killing and it was the crown's case they returned "purposefully", with their hoods pulled up, and one of them was carrying a piece of wood.

After going a "tortuous" route to the flat - climbing up a fire escape and jumping a gap between buildings - one of the men knocked at the door and stabbed Mr Griffiths as he answered it.

Lawyers for all three men argued their convictions were "unsafe", saying there was not enough evidence they all went to the flat with the intention of killing or harming anyone.

But, refusing them permission for a full appeal hearing, Lord Justice Moses said the jury were "entitled" to find all three were part of a plan or a plot to go to the flat and that they could safely conclude the men all knew about the knife.

However, Williams' minimum term was cut after his lawyers argued the Crown Court judge did not take enough account of his youth at the time of the offence.

Allowing his appeal against sentence, Lord Justice Moses said the original 14-year minimum term was "too long" and reduced it to 11 years.