The court considered appeals against tarriffs set for defendants convicted of murder in the light of the schedules to the 2003 Act.
Held: ‘The guidance given by Schedule 21 is provided to assist the judge to determine the appropriate sentence. The judge must have regard to the guidance, but each case will depend critically on its particular facts. If the judge concludes that it is appropriate to follow a course that does not appear to reflect the guidance, the judge should explain the reason for this.’ The starting points taken for the sentences varied very considerably. ‘[T]he court should consider the fact that the defendant has pleaded guilty to murder when deciding whether it is appropriate to order a whole life term. This is true of every mitigating factor. But . . . a case which calls for the imposition of a whole life term is unlikely to be a borderline case. Where it is not, there may be no need for a judge to spell out expressly why, although he has had regard to the fact that the defendant pleaded guilty, this has not affected the sentence. ‘
Citations:
[2005] EWCA Crim 3115, [2006] Crim LR 262
Links:
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina v Peters, Palmer, Campbell CACD 10-Mar-2005
In each case a young person had been convicted on a guilty plea of murder. The court considered the affect on sentence of the defendant’s age and maturity.
Held: A difference of a few months might make an arbitrary difference in the minimum . .
Cited – Regina v Hare, Regina v Sullivan CACD 9-Dec-2004
The defendants appealed their convictions, saying that counsel had been inhibited by the judge from presenting their cases properly.
Held: The judge had shown a distinct lack of courtesy to the counsel representing one defendant, without any . .
Cited – Last and others v Regina; Attorney General’s Reference No 108 of 2004 CACD 25-Jan-2005
Appeals were heard on the application of new sentencing guidelines to the defendant’s cases retrospectively. They had pleaded guilty to murders, and the issues was as to the minimum terms set.
Held: The judge had to set the minimum term in . .
Cited – Regina v Palma CACD 1986
. .
Cited – Regina v Wassim Malik CACD 2003
The defendant had set fire to a terraced house by pouring petrol through the letter box in a revenge attack. The occupier of the house escaped to call the fire brigade but a tenant was overwhelmed by smoke fumes and died. The Appellant had offered . .
Cited – Attorney General’s References Nos. 19, 20 and 21 of 2001 (Byrne and others) CACD 2002
The court considered a sentence of 7 years imprisonment for manslaughter, the death of the victim having been caused by a severe beating administered to him in the course of a street robbery in which he sustained injuries from which he died later . .
Cited – Regina v Archer, Purnell, Eaton CACD 21-Nov-1997
. .
Cited – Regina v Nedrick CACD 10-Jul-1986
The appellant poured paraffin through the front door of a house and set it alight. In the fire a child died.
Held: Lord Lane CJ considered whether a simple direction to the jury on intent to either kill or to do serious bodily harm was . .
Cited – Regina v Daly and England CACD 1995
Two men poured petrol over and set fire to the car of another man. Unknown to them the owner was asleep inside the car and he was as a result killed. Sentences of 7 years were upheld. . .
Cited – Regina v Snarski CACD 1994
. .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Sentencing
Updated: 31 May 2022; Ref: scu.235463