Sentencing in South Australia - Emerging Principles

• NCJ Number: 74149
• Journal: ADELAIDE LAW REVIEW Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1980) Pages: 41-65
• Author(s): M W Daunton-Fear
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 25 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

Factors which the South Australian appellate courts have found relevant in the determination of penalty are discussed; references are made to certain comparative decisions from other Australian jurisdictions and from England.

Abstract

The South Australian legislature has introduced bold changes which have affected the use of certain sentencing practices by the courts. Some changes have contracted the scope of criminal law by reducing its operation in such fields as abortion. Other changes have abolished certain punishments completely, such as capital and corporal punishment. Factors which are considered aggravating or mitigating regarding sentence determination may be grouped under three main headings; those relating to the general social situation at the time and in the place that the offense was committed, factors surrounding the offense, and factors surrounding the offender. With regard to the first category, the general social situation, prevalence of the crime may militate against the offender, while a state of general economic depression may have the opposite effect. Regarding the second category, factors surrounding the offense, certain features of a crime are more likely to lead to a sentence which is close to the statutory maximum, and strong mitigating circumstances will be required to offset their weight. Generally, premeditated violence is viewed most seriously. Factors relating to the offender which are considered in sentence determination involve the offender's age, prior record, race, physical or mental disability, hardship for the offender's relatives and dependents, behavior during commission of the crime, and behavior after the offense is committed. Although future appellate courts may place different emphasis upon various factors which aggravate or mitigate the sentence imposed, the fact that such aspects are taken into consideration at all is an important advancement. Included in the article are 139 footnotes.