The families of two men murdered by a teenager said the law needed to be changed so that age didn't factor into judges' sentencing.

Darronte Dill was three days away from his 18th birthday when he killed Maxwell Brangman and Frederick Gilbert in 2008.

Current legislation stipulates that minors serve a minimum of seven years.

Yesterday Chief Justice Richard Ground jailed Dill for seven years for each murder. The sentences are to run consecutively.

Mr. Justice Ground also added "an appropriate element for other aggravating factors" to the sentence. Dill will now serve 20 years before he is eligible for parole.

After the sentence, Mr. Brangman's daughter Sereana Brangman said: "The law needs to be changed considerably. Since his 18th birthday was so close he was in the right mind to think right. If you're close enough to 18, you need to be considered as an adult.

"He should have got more. His age shouldn't have been considered. For a double murder, one life sentence isn't enough. He shows no remorse. He don't care."

Asked if she could forgive Dill, Miss Brangman said: "Never, Darronte and whoever else was involved.

"The blame only being put on him, that's his business. It's sad that no one has come, that they haven't been able to bring nobody else to court."

Her aunt, Lana Flood said: "It's due course. It's sad because you have got a young man whose life is cut short. He's going to do the rest of his life in jail."

That he was a minor when he committed the crimes did not matter, she said.

"Three days from his 18th he wouldn't have done anything different. He would have still murdered my brother and Freddy. It had to be premeditated because they knew Maxie was down there. They didn't know Freddy was down there.

"I feel sorry for his mother [Donna-Mae Dill]. If you're a mother, you feel sorry for her. He's going to spend the rest of his life in jail. I am going to follow it for the next however long. He shouldn't be released. He shows no remorse. None. It's sad for both our families."

Cherlene Gilbert, Mr. Gilbert's sister, said she was pleased with the sentence but agreed the law needed to be changed.

"There needs to be a window frame, like maybe a year before the birthday, so that things like this will not happen. It got committed two or three days before his birthday. Because of the statutory of limitations, he was considered as a minor.

"The fact that he didn't show any remorse was a bit baffling really. Considering who it is, it's sort of expected but I still expected something. He sat in court and the whole time in court and beyond he still smiled and laughed and acted like he was going to get off."

Asked for comment on her son's sentence, Ms Dill said: "I don't want to talk about nothing. I am tired, I am fed up and I don't want to talk."