There's another way of looking at it, ppc, in that if the Philpotts appeal against their sentences, they can try to claim that the judge was swayed by adverse media publicity, that the sentence was a knee jerk reaction, etc, etc.
If the judge can show that she's taken time to carefully consider her decision, then they have that bit less ammunition.
Apparently Philpott shouted 'You haven't seen the last of me' or something similar in court today, so I hope the judge is covering all avenues and ensuring that actually, we have seen the last of him.