Transcript You be the Judge VCE Murder Slides

Murder
Case study for VCE
Photo: John French / Courtesy of The Age
1. Sentencing origin and range
What is the origin
and range of
sentences
available to a
judge in Victoria?
Chief Justice Marilyn Warren of the
Supreme Court of Victoria
Sentencing Advisory Council, 2015
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Who is responsible for sentencing?
In Australia, responsibility for
sentencing is spread among
three groups
Parliament
~ makes the laws ~
 Creates offences and
decides what the maximum
penalties will be
 Makes the rules that the
courts must apply to cases
 Sets up punishments for
judges and magistrates to
use
Courts
~ interpret the laws ~
 Apply the law within the
framework set up by
parliament
 Set specific sentences for
individual offenders
Government
~ puts laws into operation ~
 Correctional authorities (e.g.
prisons) – control offenders
after sentencing
 Adult Parole Board –
supervises offenders who
are on parole
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Where is sentencing law found?
• Sentencing Act 1991
• Children, Youth and Families Act 2005
• Common law – previous court judgments
• Various Acts and Regulations creating particular
offences, for example:
–Crimes Act 1958 deals with a range of crimes,
including injury offences
–Road Safety Act 1986 deals with a range of driving
offences, including drink driving and drug driving
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Types of sentences
Most severe
 Imprisonment
 Drug treatment order
 Community correction order
 Fine
 Adjourned undertaking
Least severe
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2. Sentencing theory
What must a
judge consider
when deciding
what sentence
to impose?
Source: Victorian Sentencing Manual, Judicial College of Victoria
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Purposes of sentencing
These are the ONLY
purposes for which
sentences can be given
Just
punishment
Community
protection
Deterrence
PURPOSES OF
SENTENCING
Denunciation
Sentencing Act 1991 s 5(1)
Rehabilitation
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Principle of parsimony
Parsimony
~ extreme care when imposing punishment ~
Where a choice of punishment exists,
the judge should take care to choose
the least severe option that will achieve
the purposes of sentencing
Example - If there is a choice between imposing a fine
or a community correction order, a fine should be imposed
provided it meets the purposes of sentencing
Sentencing Act 1991 ss 5(3)(4), 5(6)(7)
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Factors that must be considered
Factors that must be considered
when sentencing
Maximum penalty
& current
sentencing
practices
Type of offence
& how serious
Circumstances
of the offender
Victim
Aggravating or
mitigating
factors
Relevant Acts
of Parliament
& previous
court decisions
Factors making
the crime worse,
intention, effects,
method, motive,
weapons,
role the offender
played
Prior offences,
age, character,
& mental state.
Alcohol, drug, or
gambling addiction.
Personal crisis,
guilty plea
Impact of crime
on victim (e.g.
psychological
or physical
trauma), material
or financial loss
Factors that
increase or
lessen the
seriousness
of the crime
Victim Impact
Statement
Sentencing Act 1991 s 5(2)
Sentencing Advisory Council, 2015
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Victim impact statements
• If a court finds a person guilty, a victim of the offence
may make a Victim Impact Statement (VIS)
• A VIS contains details of any injury, loss, or damage
suffered by the victim as a direct result of the
offence
• A person who has made a VIS can request that it be
read aloud during the sentencing hearing
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How long is a sentence really?
Cumulative or concurrent?
• Cumulative  sentences for two or more crimes that run one after
the other, e.g. two x five-year prison sentences served
cumulatively = 10 years in prison
• Concurrent  sentences for two or more crimes that run at the
same time, e.g. two x five-year prison sentences served
concurrently = five years in prison
• The total effective sentence (TES) (or head sentence)  the
total imprisonment sentence for all offences within a case, after
orders making sentences cumulative or concurrent
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Non-parole period
• A non-parole period is set by the court. It is the part of the
sentence that must be served in prison before the offender
may apply to be released on parole
• If a prison sentence of two years or longer is imposed, the
court must set a non-parole period
• Courts have a choice of whether or not to set a non-parole
period for prison sentences of one to two years
• A non-parole period cannot be set for prison sentences of
less than one year
• Parole is the prisoner’s release from prison before the end of
his or her total possible prison sentence, subject to
conditions (e.g. regular reporting to a parole officer)
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3. The crime and the time
What is murder?
What is the maximum
penalty?
Photo: Trevor Poultney
Sentencing Advisory Council, 2015
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Murder
A person who intentionally causes the death of another
person is guilty of the indictable offence of murder.
Maximum penalty
• Level 1 imprisonment (life) or
• imprisonment for such other term as is fixed by the
court
Crimes Act 1958 s 3
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Murder - People sentenced
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Length of imprisonment
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Baseline sentencing – current median
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Baseline sentencing – baseline sentence
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Average total effective sentence & non-parole period
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4. The case
What are the
facts of this
case?
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The offender
• Tony Prior is a 22 year old man  he was 20 at the
time of the offence
• He is described as placid and easygoing
• Over three to four years, Prior became morbidly
obsessed about death and committing murder
• He has a verbal IQ of 71 and failed at school
• Since leaving school, he has been a successful
cabinet maker
• He has been found guilty of one count of murder
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The crime 1
• Tony Prior and his good friend Brook Tanner were drinking
beer at a mutual friend’s place
• Prior produced a hunting knife that he had earlier stolen and
told his friends that he needed it for protection
• Soon after, Prior and Tanner returned to their own flat
• In an unprovoked attack, Prior stabbed Tanner a number of
times
• Tanner broke free and staggered out onto the road where
passers-by administered first aid and called an ambulance
• Meanwhile Prior slashed his own throat and wrists and
stabbed himself in the chest
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The crime 2
• Prior then called 000, saying that he needed serious
help and that he had tried killing a friend with a knife
• Prior showed no concern for the fate of his friend but
concentrated on his own predicament
• Meanwhile, police and ambulance had arrived in
response to the calls of passers-by
• Tanner died in hospital an hour later
• Prior was treated for his wounds in hospital and
underwent psychiatric examinations
Sentencing Advisory Council, 2015
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Factors for consideration
• Prior pleaded guilty as soon as it was determined that he
was not mentally impaired
• From the age of 15, Prior downloaded grotesque and
depraved images and materials from the internet
• At all times, Prior frankly admitted responsibility for his
actions and never blamed alcohol or drugs for his actions
• Despite his difficulties at school, Prior’s teachers found him
polite and easy to deal with
• Prior is single and has a full-time job
• He has no previous convictions
• He has expressed remorse, albeit qualified, for his actions
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5. The sentence
What sentence
would you give?
Photo: Department of Justice & Regulation
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You decide …
1. What sentence would you impose?
2. If imprisonment:
– What would be the total effective sentence?
– What would be the non-parole period?
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The maximum penalty
A person who intentionally
causes the death of another
person is guilty of the indictable
offence of murder, which carries
the maximum penalty of:
• Level 1 imprisonment (life) or
• imprisonment for such other
term as is fixed by the court
Crimes Act 1958 s 3
Tony Prior is guilty
of one count of
murder and could
receive a possible
maximum of life
imprisonment
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What the trial judge decided
Tony Prior’s case, Supreme Court
• Count 1 (Murder): 20 years’ imprisonment
• Non-parole period: 15 years
• Already served: the 671 days Prior had already spent in prison are to be
reckoned as served under the sentence
Trial judge’s comment
‘...it is important that the sentence that is imposed on you be sufficient to constitute
an appropriate denunciation by this Court of your crime, and to properly uphold the
sanctity of human life in our community. It is also necessary that the sentence
which is imposed on you be of sufficient magnitude to deter other like-minded
persons from resorting to lethal violence to satisfy their violent impulses. In
addition, it is necessary to impose a sentence which will be sufficiently long to
enable you, hopefully, to gain appropriate insight into your wrongdoing, and into the
underlying causes which precipitated you into the events of that fateful night.’
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6. Conclusion
Effective sentencing achieves a
balance between the interests of
society, the concerns of the victim,
and the best interests of the
offender
The more information society has
about crimes and the people
involved in them, the more
reasonable it is in its demands
about sentencing
Photo: Department of Justice & Regulation
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