The defendant appealed his sentence of life imprisonment for assault and attempted rape, with a minimum of twelve years to be served. The trial judge was right in deciding that, because of the risk that the appellant presented to women, a discretionary life sentence was appropriate. It was argued for him that, in view of O’Neill, the trial judge had erred, particularly in his failure to apply a reduction of fifty percent on account of the early release provisions in the 1993 Act. In view of Ansari it was appropriate to set the sentence again. In view of the gravity of the sexual offence, the related offence of assault, the appellant’s criminal record, and the fact that he committed this crime during the unexpired portion of a previous sentence, the notional determinate sentence, under exclusion of the risk element (cf. Ansari), should be 13 years. The notional determinate sentence should reflect the idea of general deterrence as well as deterrence of the offender himself. In view of the gravity of the case, as in Ansari, a high proportion of that figure should be applied to reach the punishment part. Appeal allowed to the extent of fixing the punishment part of the life sentence at a period of 9 years and of backdating that.
Judges:
Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Kirkwood, Lord Marnoch, Lord Reed, Lord McCluskey
Citations:
[2003] ScotHC 18
Links:
Statutes:
Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993
Jurisdiction:
Scotland
Citing:
Cited – O’Neill v Her Majesty’s Advocate HCJ 9-Mar-1999
The appellant pleaded guilty to an assault with a knife upon a stranger. He had a previous conviction for assault causing severe injury and permanent disfigurement, and two previous convictions for inter alia attempted murder and assault. He had . .
Cited – Regina v Secretary of State for the Home Department ex parte Doody and Others HL 25-Jun-1993
A mandatory lifer is to be permitted to suggest the period of actual sentence to be served. The Home Secretary must give reasons for refusing a lifer’s release. What fairness requires in any particular case is ‘essentially an intuitive judgment’, . .
Cited – Ansari v Her Majesty’s Advocate HCJ 2-May-2003
The applicant assaulted and abducted an innocent passer-by, a young woman of 23, in the streets of Aberdeen and drove her, bound and gagged, to his house in Leith where he stripped her naked and assaulted and raped her. He was sentenced to life . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Sentencing
Updated: 07 June 2022; Ref: scu.181784