R v Hearne [1999] NSWSC 605

R v Hearne [1999] NSWSC 605

The prisoner was sentenced for murder and malicious wounding on the basis that he intended to cause grievous bodily harm, not death, and was not proven beyond reasonable doubt to have known the victims were police at the time of the offences; sentences were determined having regard to totality, youth, prospects for rehabilitation, and seriousness, with sentences ordered concurrently and the fixed term for malicious wounding absorbed within the murder sentence.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
04 June 1999
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Sentencing
Outcome
conviction and sentencing
Legal Topics
['murder' 'malicious Wounding' 'sentencing' 'use of Knives' 'police Protection' 'youthful Offender' 'rehabilitation']
['criminal Law'] ['murder' 'malicious Wounding' 'sentencing' 'use of Knives' 'police Protection' 'youthful Offender' 'rehabilitation']

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Procedural Posture

Criminal / Sentencing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the prisoner intended to kill Constable Forsyth or to cause grievous bodily harm' 'Whether the prisoner knew the victims were police officers at the time of the offences' 'Appropriate sentencing taking into account totality principle, youth, rehabilitation prospects, seriousness of crime']

Ratio Decidendi

The prisoner was sentenced for murder and malicious wounding on the basis that he intended to cause grievous bodily harm, not death, and was not proven beyond reasonable doubt to have known the victims were police at the time of the offences; sentences were determined having regard to totality, youth, prospects for rehabilitation, and seriousness, with sentences ordered concurrently and the fixed term for malicious wounding absorbed within the murder sentence.

Court Disposition

conviction and sentencing

Orders

  • ['For malicious wounding, fixed term of penal servitude for six years from 3 March 1998.' 'For murder, minimum term of penal servitude for twenty years from 3 March 1998 to expire 2 March 2018, with additional term of seven years to commence on expiry of minimum term.' 'Sentences to be served concurrently, with...