REGINA v. BARAC [1999] NSWSC 61

REGINA v. BARAC [1999] NSWSC 61

The murder approached but was not proved to be in the worst category because the Court was not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that there was a planned killing, a pre-existing intention to kill or seriously injure, or heinous aggravating circumstances of the kind required for an inflexible life sentence. Although the prisoner presently posed a real danger, particularly in intimate relationships and with substance abuse, the psychiatric evidence did not establish an absence of real prospects of eventual rehabilitation. A determinate sentence with a 20 year minimum term and 10 year additional term adequately reflected punishment, deterrence, community protection and the need for...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
16 February 1999
Procedural Posture
Criminal Sentencing for Murder / Sentence Following Guilty Plea
Outcome
The prisoner was sentenced to penal servitude for 30 years, comprising a minimum term of 20 years and an additional term of 10 years.
Legal Topics
['murder' 'guilty Plea' 'life Imprisonment' 'worst Category of Case' 'dangerousness' 'rehabilitation' 'domestic Violence' 'minimum Term and Additional Term']
['criminal Law' 'sentencing'] ['murder' 'guilty Plea' 'life Imprisonment' 'worst Category of Case' 'dangerousness' 'rehabilitation' 'domestic Violence' 'minimum Term and Additional Term']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Criminal Sentencing for Murder / Sentence Following Guilty Plea

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the murder warranted penal servitude for life under s.19A of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW).' 'Whether the offence was in the worst category of murder cases by reason of premeditation, heinousness and absence of mitigation.' 'Whether the prisoner’s dangerousness and prospects of rehabilitation justified an inflexible life sentence or a determinate sentence with a lengthy minimum term.' 'What weight should be given to the late guilty plea under s.439 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW).']

Ratio Decidendi

The murder approached but was not proved to be in the worst category because the Court was not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that there was a planned killing, a pre-existing intention to kill or seriously injure, or heinous aggravating circumstances of the kind required for an inflexible life sentence. Although the prisoner presently posed a real danger, particularly in intimate relationships and with substance abuse, the psychiatric evidence did not establish an absence of real prospects of eventual rehabilitation. A determinate sentence with a 20 year minimum term and 10 year additional term adequately reflected punishment, deterrence, community protection and the need for...

Court Disposition

The prisoner was sentenced to penal servitude for 30 years, comprising a minimum term of 20 years and an additional term of 10 years.

Orders

  • ['Sentence to penal servitude for 30 years.' 'Minimum term of 20 years to commence on 26 May 1997 and expire on 25 May 2017.' 'Additional term of 10 years to expire on 25 May 2027.' 'Earliest eligibility for release on parole is 25 May 2017.']