General sentencing issues
| Date | 01 September 2019 |
| Published date | 01 September 2019 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0264550519860339 |
| Subject Matter | In court |
In court
In court
Nigel Stone, Visiting Fellow in the School of Psychology, University of East Anglia,
reviews recent appeal judgments and other judicial developments that inform sen-
tencing and early release.
General sentencing issues
Out-of-character arson: Aggravating factors vs motivational mitigation
Though B., who occupied one of a block of six flats, together with his wife and three
young children, had been on friendly terms with the occupants of the flat above, a
man and his teenage daughter, he had become increasingly exasperated and
stressed by the noise coming from the upstairs flat over a period of several weeks,
particularly when the daughter frequently entertained visitors and played loud
music. This had affected family life, particularly at bedtime and when he was
working shifts and had to get up at 3.00 to leave for work at 4.00. He had com-
plained about this without much success. One Friday evening when the daughter
was greeting arriving friends she heard B. threatening to ‘fire-bomb’ her flat. On the
following evening when she was dancing with friends to ‘quite loud’ music, she
heard the communal fire alarm and found that her front door was on fire. This had
been caused by B., using white spirit as accelerant. She and her companions were
able to leave the building via the fire escape and she then returned to put out the fire
with an extinguisher. In addition to the heavily damaged front door the daughter
and her father had sustained the loss of many clothes affected by smoke damage
and their flat had required extensive redecorating.
Though he had initially given a ‘no comment’ interview, B. eventually pleaded
guilty at Crown Court to a single count of arson, being reckless as to whether life
would be endangered. Aged 39, he had no prior convictions but had twice been
cautioned 15 to 16 years previously, for criminal damage and possession of can-
nabis. Following adjournment for a PSR and a psychiatric report, the probation
officer relayed B.’s account that he had ‘lost his mind as a result of chronic sleep
deprivation’. He claimed to have only a hazy recollection of the incident but thought
his motivation had been only to create smoke, hoping that this would encourage the
daughter above to take his complaints seriously. He claimed to have been surprised
Probation Journal
2019, Vol. 66(3) 379–389
ªThe Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/0264550519860339
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The Journal of Community and Criminal Justice
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