R. v. Dermody
Court accepted that the assault began as a reasonable self‑defence response but escalated into disproportionate, dominant and vengeful conduct while the victim was defenseless and in custody; weighing aggravating (violence, victim defenselessness, occurrence in prison) and significant mitigating factors (traumatic history, mental health/addiction diagnoses, acceptance of responsibility, active rehabilitation), the sentence that is fit and proportionate is 10 months imprisonment to be served straight, followed by 12 months probation with specified conditions; ancillary orders (DNA, lifetime we…
Source excerpt
- Assault causing bodily harm
- Self-defence
- Proportionality in sentencing
- Aggravating factors in custody
- Mitigating factors and rehabilitation
- Probation conditions