Headline sentence for arson was within trial judge’s margin of appreciation

Criminal law - appeal against severity of sentence - pleaded guilty to an offence of arson - appellant was sentenced to a period of seven and a half years’ imprisonment with the final eighteen months suspended for a period of ten years – factual background – personal circumstances – sentence imposed - judge identified a pre-mitigation headline sentence of ten years’ imprisonment - aggravating factors; the degree of planning and premeditation involved in the commission of the offence, the knowledge that people were present in the house at the time of the offending and the timing of the offence at a time when people would normally be expected to be asleep, the impact of the offence on the injured party, the failure to recompense and The Probation Report placing the appellant at a high risk of reoffending – mitigation: early guilty plea, his voluntary attendance at the Garda Station, his cooperation and assistance of Gardaí and his efforts towards rehabilitation, a handwritten letter of apology – grounds of appeal – alleged that the trial judge incorrectly identified the failure to pay compensation as an aggravating factor - not persuaded that the judge erred in nominating the headline sentence of 10 years - within the judge’s margin of appreciation - the judge identified the relevant mitigating factors and reduced the headline sentence in consequence to one of 7 1⁄2 years thereof, thus amounting to a 25% reduction from the nominated sentence – appropriate reduction for mitigating factors – appeal dismissed