LAL v R PN v R NON PUBLICATION ORDER [2007] NSWSC 445

LAL v R PN v R NON PUBLICATION ORDER [2007] NSWSC 445

The offenders committed objectively serious manslaughter by joining in an opportunistic assault on a vulnerable taxi driver, using moderate force that triggered a fatal heart attack in a man with serious coronary disease, and then abandoning him and taking his taxi. Custodial sentences were inevitable, but the appropriate sentence had to reflect their very young age, impaired judgment from alcohol and drugs, deprived backgrounds, genuine remorse, guilty pleas, absence of prior criminal history, and real prospects of rehabilitation. A total term of six years with a non-parole period of three years and six months, served as juvenile offenders before parole, balanced punishment, deterrence,...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
04 May 2007
Procedural Posture
Criminal Sentence for Manslaughter / Sentence After Guilty Pleas to Manslaughter Were Accepted by the Crown in Full Discharge of an Indictment Charging Murder With an Alternative Count of Manslaughter
Outcome
Both offenders were sentenced to a total term of six years imprisonment with a non-parole period of three years and six months, and were directed to serve the sentence prior to release to parole as juvenile offenders.
Legal Topics
['manslaughter by Unlawful and Dangerous Act' 'child Offenders' 'alcohol and Drug Intoxication' 'rehabilitation' 'deterrence' 'victim Impact Statement' 'juvenile Detention']
['criminal Law' 'sentencing' "children's Criminal Proceedings"] ['manslaughter by Unlawful and Dangerous Act' 'child Offenders' 'alcohol and Drug Intoxication' 'rehabilitation' 'deterrence' 'victim Impact Statement' 'juvenile Detention']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Criminal Sentence for Manslaughter / Sentence After Guilty Pleas to Manslaughter Were Accepted by the Crown in Full Discharge of an Indictment Charging Murder With an Alternative Count of Manslaughter

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['What sentences should be imposed on two 14-year-old offenders who pleaded guilty to manslaughter by unlawful and dangerous act after assaulting a taxi driver whose heart attack was triggered by the assault.' "Whether the injuries to the deceased's head and face were caused by a shoe imprint or by other mechanisms, and what degree of force was used." "What weight should be given to the offenders' youth, intoxication, deprived backgrounds, remorse, guilty pleas, rehabilitation prospects, and the need for punishment and deterrence." 'Whether special circumstances justified detention of the offenders in a juvenile detention centre under s 19(3) Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987.']

Ratio Decidendi

The offenders committed objectively serious manslaughter by joining in an opportunistic assault on a vulnerable taxi driver, using moderate force that triggered a fatal heart attack in a man with serious coronary disease, and then abandoning him and taking his taxi. Custodial sentences were inevitable, but the appropriate sentence had to reflect their very young age, impaired judgment from alcohol and drugs, deprived backgrounds, genuine remorse, guilty pleas, absence of prior criminal history, and real prospects of rehabilitation. A total term of six years with a non-parole period of three years and six months, served as juvenile offenders before parole, balanced punishment, deterrence,...

Court Disposition

Both offenders were sentenced to a total term of six years imprisonment with a non-parole period of three years and six months, and were directed to serve the sentence prior to release to parole as juvenile offenders.

Orders

  • ['LAL was sentenced to a non-parole period of 3 years and six months commencing on 2 February 2006 and expiring on 1 August 2009, with a further term of two years and six months expiring on 1 February 2012.' 'PN was sentenced to a non-parole period of 3 years and six months commencing on 2 February 2006 and expiring...