Parnham, Regina v: CACD 7 Feb 2003

The defendant appealed against his sentence of six years for manslaughter. His wife had attacked him with an iron bar and he had defended himself and hit her causing her death.
Held: The court had not given credit for his plea of guilty, and that this was a case of involuntary manslaughter. Although the blows struck by the deceased caused some injury, the appellant received no serious injuries. On the other hand, the attack upon his wife was one of excessive ferocity. That ferocity was treated by the jury as being indicative of a frenzied state which had the consequence that the appellant did not intend to cause the really serious bodily injury which self-evidently was bound to follow from the blows he struck with an iron bar. Allowing for the guilty plea, the correct sentence was four years.

Judges:

Jackson, Elias JJ

Citations:

[2003] EWCA Crim 416

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

CitedRegina v Palmer CACD 1990
The appellant had been convicted of manslaughter on an indictment for murder. In the course of an argument with his wife he fetched a knife from the kitchen to frighten her; the argument turned into a fight in the course of which his wife received a . .
CitedRegina v Higgins CACD 1996
The appellant had been married to the deceased for four-and-a-half years. The deceased was an alcoholic and was occasionally abusive and violent towards her. On the day of the offence the appellant and the deceased spent some time drinking together . .
CitedSuratan and Another, Regina v CACD 20-Dec-2002
The appellant had been convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to a term of three-and-a-half years’ imprisonment. He had killed his partner by striking two blows upon her during a quarrel. She had fallen to the ground and in doing so had . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Criminal Sentencing

Updated: 03 August 2022; Ref: scu.392841