Regina v Barry [2000] NSWCCA 138

Regina v Barry [2000] NSWCCA 138

It was open to the sentencing judge to accept Tara Barry's evidence about the sequence of events and to reject the defence hypothesis as not a reasonable possibility. The judge took the applicant's abnormality of mind and other subjective factors into account, applied totality, and the very high sentence was justified by the brutal and horrific objective seriousness of the murder and the serious wounding of Tara, including the applicant's history of violence and the applicable apprehended violence order and bond. The sentence was not manifestly excessive.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
13 April 2000
Procedural Posture
Criminal Appeal Against Severity of Sentence for Murder and Malicious Wounding With Intent to Do Grievous Bodily Harm / Application for Leave to Appeal Against Sentence
Outcome
Leave to appeal against sentence granted; appeal against sentence dismissed.
Legal Topics
['murder' 'malicious Wounding With Intent to Do Grievous Bodily Harm' 'severity of Sentence' 'findings of Fact on Sentence' 'reasonable Hypothesis' 'principle of Totality' 'manifest Excess']
['criminal Law' 'sentencing'] ['murder' 'malicious Wounding With Intent to Do Grievous Bodily Harm' 'severity of Sentence' 'findings of Fact on Sentence' 'reasonable Hypothesis' 'principle of Totality' 'manifest Excess']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Criminal Appeal Against Severity of Sentence for Murder and Malicious Wounding With Intent to Do Grievous Bodily Harm / Application for Leave to Appeal Against Sentence

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the sentencing judge erred by accepting beyond reasonable doubt Tara Barry's evidence about the sequence of events." 'Whether the sentencing judge was required to sentence on the defence hypothesis of a frenzied and swift attack.' 'Whether the sentencing judge gave undue weight to retribution and deterrence and too little weight to rehabilitation.' "Whether the sentencing judge failed to take the applicant's abnormality of mind into account in assessing objective gravity." 'Whether the total sentence was manifestly excessive.']

Ratio Decidendi

It was open to the sentencing judge to accept Tara Barry's evidence about the sequence of events and to reject the defence hypothesis as not a reasonable possibility. The judge took the applicant's abnormality of mind and other subjective factors into account, applied totality, and the very high sentence was justified by the brutal and horrific objective seriousness of the murder and the serious wounding of Tara, including the applicant's history of violence and the applicable apprehended violence order and bond. The sentence was not manifestly excessive.

Court Disposition

Leave to appeal against sentence granted; appeal against sentence dismissed.

Orders

  • ['The applicant be granted leave to appeal against the sentence.' 'The appeal is dismissed.']