Jersey Unreported Judgments

Inferior Number Sentencing - breach of orders

[2017]JRC009

Royal Court

(Samedi)

13 January 2017

The Attorney General

-v-

Laurie Ian Murphy

Sentencing by the Inferior Number of the Royal Court on a breach of Community Service Orders and Probation Orders imposed on 18^th March, 2016, on the following charges:

Age:  26.

Plea: Guilty

Conclusions:

Breach of Community Service Order and Probation Order: 5 months' imprisonment sought or 3 months' extension of orders. 

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Breach of Community Service Order and Probation Order: 8 month's imprisonment.  

Community Service Order and Probation Orders discharged. 

R. C. P. Pedley, Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate S. E. A. Dale for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE BAILIFF:

1.        Mr Murphy, on the 18^th March, 2016, the Court sentenced you to period of community service and a probation order and in the schedule to the Act of Court it is said "if you fail to observe any of the conditions of your recognizance you will be liable to be apprehended and sentenced for the offences to which you have pleaded guilty".  That is where we are today, you were given a chance last July by the Attorney General and the application has come back to Court today because you have breached the terms of the community service and probation orders. 

2.        We have listened very carefully to everything that Advocate Dale has said very fluently on your behalf, but we do not accept it and we are going to send you to prison, and I will go on to tell you why. 

3.        So formally, the probation and community service orders are discharged and you are sentenced on the original offences to a period of 8 months' imprisonment. 

4.        Now I said I was going to tell you why.  The original offences led the Crown to suggest a starting point of 15 months' imprisonment and we think that was right and the way we look at it is that we would have allowed you one-third off that for mitigation for your guilty plea, which came down to 10 months' imprisonment.  We do not think there is much other mitigation, to be honest, in relation to those offences because the drug offences were serious offences.  We take account of the fact that you have served some community service, and that is why we are reducing the sentence to 8 months' imprisonment now.  That is part of the reason.  The other reasons that we have got in mind is that you clearly have had a problem with drug taking and we think that the period that you need to serve in prison now has to be long enough that you have some time away from drugs and it will be easier to be away from them in prison and, secondly, that prison will give you the opportunity to think about the direction your life should take.  '

5.        You are still only 26 years old, and you have a record which is absolutely appalling, as you know.  You also have had lots of problems in your upbringing, and we realise that, but they are not a complete answer.  Ultimately, it is only you who can decide to turn your life around and you have got to start thinking, when you are in prison, you have got to start thinking whether that is going to be your life, your whole life - are you going to be in and out of prison all your life?  And now that you are a father and you have that relationship, which is apparently a very good one with your partner's child, you have got every opportunity to think of the positive things that you can make as a contribution in your life, things that you can get back.  Things actually that you did not have when you were growing up yourself.  You can turn your life round in that way and make a contribution to these two children to make sure they do not face the problems that you face. 

6.        Now 8 months' imprisonment, by the time you have had some time off for good conduct, it will come down to just under 6 months' imprisonment or so.  It will not be critical to your relationship with those children.  You will be able to take up with them perfectly well when you come out of prison and it is important that you do and that is a positive thing that you need to look forward to because of the contribution that you can make to them. 

7.        But we are not satisfied at the moment that you have got yourself to the point where you really reject the drug taking, and you need to get yourself to that point because ultimately it is only you that can do it, and what you must realise also is that now you have that conviction for drug taking in your record, that if you get any other convictions for drug taking, the sentences are likely to get much higher.  So that is going to be really significant for your future and, as I say, you are still only 26 years, you have got time to turn things round. 

8.        So the Court is both sympathetic to the position that you are in, because you have got yourself into these difficulties, but also quite resolute that you have got to obey the orders of the Court, you have got to get your life round and we think that the custodial sentence is the right way that you should do so.  When you are serving that sentence, we hope you will get the opportunity to take courses in the prison including the Thinking Skills Course, if it is on offer, and hopefully it will get your mind straight for when you come out.  I do not know how much of this you are going to take in today.  I hope that in due course your counsel ensure that you are sent a transcript of what I have said to you, because you will be able to read that in the prison and think about it a bit more, and it is important that you do. 

9.        Mr Murphy, you are sentenced to 8 months' imprisonment on Count 1 of possession of cannabis with intent to supply, and there will be no additional penalty in relation to Count 3. 

Authorities

AG-v-Murphy [2016] JRC 067B.