R v Pearce [2019] NSWDC 530

R v Pearce [2019] NSWDC 530

The offender was part of a joint criminal enterprise to attack and stab the victim and was proved beyond reasonable doubt to have personally stabbed him, although the number of stab wounds inflicted by the offender could not be determined. The offence was serious but a little below the midrange of objective seriousness, with the Crown accepting an intention to inflict less than really serious bodily injury. The offender's deprived background was considered under Bugmy, and a 10% discount was allowed for the utilitarian value of the guilty plea, but there was no evidence of remorse, prospects of rehabilitation were poor, no special circumstances were found, and the sentence was to commence...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
21 March 2019
Procedural Posture
Criminal Sentence / Sentence After Guilty Plea During the Sittings in Which the Trial Was Listed for Hearing
Outcome
Offender convicted and sentenced to imprisonment.
Legal Topics
['reckless Wounding' 'co Offenders' 'joint Criminal Enterprise' 'inmate Violence' 'guilty Plea' 'special Circumstances' 'institutionalisation']
['criminal Law' 'sentencing'] ['reckless Wounding' 'co Offenders' 'joint Criminal Enterprise' 'inmate Violence' 'guilty Plea' 'special Circumstances' 'institutionalisation']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Criminal Sentence / Sentence After Guilty Plea During the Sittings in Which the Trial Was Listed for Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Assessment of objective seriousness for reckless wounding committed in company in a correctional centre' 'Whether the offender was liable on the basis of joint criminal enterprise and his individual culpability' "Effect of the offender's deprived background under Bugmy v R (2013) 249 CLR 571" 'Whether special circumstances should be found' 'Parity with co-offender Mr Russell' 'Application of s 56 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act to commencement of the sentence']

Ratio Decidendi

The offender was part of a joint criminal enterprise to attack and stab the victim and was proved beyond reasonable doubt to have personally stabbed him, although the number of stab wounds inflicted by the offender could not be determined. The offence was serious but a little below the midrange of objective seriousness, with the Crown accepting an intention to inflict less than really serious bodily injury. The offender's deprived background was considered under Bugmy, and a 10% discount was allowed for the utilitarian value of the guilty plea, but there was no evidence of remorse, prospects of rehabilitation were poor, no special circumstances were found, and the sentence was to commence...

Court Disposition

Offender convicted and sentenced to imprisonment.

Orders

  • ['Todd Andrew Pearce is convicted of the offence to which he pleaded guilty.' 'The offender is sentenced to a non-parole period of two years and three months and a balance of term of nine months, being a total sentence of three years imprisonment.' 'The sentence commences on 18 August 2022 and expires on 17 August...