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Court of Appeal allows DPP's appeal to a sentence of six years with the last two years suspended for causing serious harm, on the grounds that, in all the circumstances of the case, the ultimate sentence imposed by the court below was significantly outside of the norm and that this was the result of errors of principle such that the original sentence was unduly lenient.
Offence: causing serious harm contrary to s. 4 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997
Original sentence: six years imprisonment with final two years suspended for two years
Appealed by: DPP on grounds of undue leniency
Outcome: new sentence imposed on six and a half years with the final six months suspended
Grounds: while the headline sentence of seven and a half years was within the legitimate range, defendant was only entitled to very modest mitigation, at most 12 months; to discount by 18 months was an error of principle; there was an insufficient evidential basis for the trial judge to suspend a third of the sentence and this was a further error of principle
Note: This is intended to be a fair and accurate report of a decision made public by a court of law. Any errors should be notified to the editor and will be dealt with accordingly.
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