OFFENDER CHARGED WITH BURGLARY, THEFT AND DAMAGE TO PROPERTY SEEKS TO REDUCE SENTENCE DUE TO HIS MENTAL ILLNESS

R v Hoare [2020] ACTSC 238 (4 September 2020)  

This case is about an offender who seeks to reduce his sentence due to his mental illness  

Facts:  

• The offender is charged with Burglary, theft and damage to property where he pleaded guilty.   
• Since he was 18 years old, the offender has experienced mental health problems.  His current diagnosis is schizophrenia and polysubstance abuse.  He is being treated with injections of anti-psychotic medication  
• The offender claimed that the offences occurred in the context of a change of medication, and there was some support for that assertion in the material provided to the Court.  He said that he had “blacked out” and had limited recall of the offences.  

Issue: Is the offender entitled to a reduced sentence due to his mental illness?  

Law:  

• S33 of the Crimes Sentencing Act of 2005  

1. In deciding how an offender should be sentenced for an offence, a court must consider whichever of the following matters are relevant and known to the court  

(m) the cultural background, character, antecedents, age and physical or mental condition of the offender 

Analysis:  

The court is satisfied that, at the time of the offences, the offender was suffering from an episode of acute psychotic illness. This conclusion is supported both by the diagnosis of 4 October 2019 and the bizarre nature of the offences themselves. It is unclear whether and to what extent the offender's psychotic condition was drug-induced. Consequently, the court proceeds on the basis that it has not been established that the psychotic condition was drug-induced and that the psychotic condition does reduce his moral culpability for the offences.  

Conclusion:  

Hence, the court convicts the offender of Burglary and impose12 months of  imprisonment (reduced from 15 months of imprisonment)  

#Criminal