In Court
| Date | 01 December 1996 |
| Published date | 01 December 1996 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059604300423 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Convicted ofGBH with intent (s18) for
what was clearly a life-threatening
retaliation, sentence of three years
imprisonment (imposed without a pre-
sentence report) was reduced to two on
appeal, the Court of Appeal emphasising
that his behaviour was totally
inexcusable whatever the provocation.
The Court indicated that a PSR should
have been sought as this would have
The Attorney-General has recently
given the judge a much clearer
referred a number of community
understanding of the scale of provocation
sentences to the Court of Appeal on
suffered.
grounds of undue lenience and been
successful in achieving substitute
custodial terms. These have all involved
~.’~’;&dquo;
violence or robbery offences. For
example, a 21 year old man responsible
Is it
for
legitimate to depart from the general
an unprovoked attack on the victim as
he
principle of equality of sentence for co-
was walking home, striking him with
defendants on the basis of one
a hollow metal tube causing lacerations
defendant’s motivation to change? In R v
to his scalp, being motivated by recent
BOWLES [1996] 2 Cr App R(S) 248, the
ill-feeling between-their families, had
two defendants had committed a serious
been placed on probation for two years
with
burglary, one receiving 18 months
a requirement to attend the
Sherborne House Probation Centre in
imprisonment and the other a probation
order, despite playing a more
Inner London.
culpable
Imposing 21 months
role in the offence. On the first
imprisonment, the Court of Appeal took
offender’s
into
appeal, the Court of Appeal
account that the offender had been
upheld the disparity, indicating that the
subject to two community sentences
sentencer was entitled to offer
(probation for GBH and CSOtfor
probation
to a persistent offender if there is ’any
possessing an offensive weapon) at the
reason to think that it
time of the offence and that
might be possible
shortly after
to break the
his
cycle of offending once and
new probation order had driven...
To continue reading
Request your trial