Does anyone know enough about UK law to suggest a likely sentence for someone who attacked his 13-week pregnant girlfriend, kicking her in the abdomen repeatedly? The baby is miscarried and she loses enough blood to nearly die, and the attack comes after previous violence.
Sentencing for GBH in the UK
- Thread starter Lapinou
- Start date
5 years imprisonment max
http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/guidelines/guidelines-to-download.htm
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/l_to_o/offences_against_the_person/#Unlawful_wounding
http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Law/Criminal/Question835783.html
the boyfriend's offence is at the more extreme end of the range so an immediate custodial sentence seems likely
http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/guidelines/guidelines-to-download.htm
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/l_to_o/offences_against_the_person/#Unlawful_wounding
http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Law/Criminal/Question835783.html
the boyfriend's offence is at the more extreme end of the range so an immediate custodial sentence seems likely
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Do you mean 5 years minimum? The maximum for GBH is life.
I think it would be pot luck what he got. If it were unplanned then it would make a big difference. If he got a female judge who had been unable to have children herself then...
Depends whether they determine 'with intent' (you set out to cause GBH, you did so intentionally/premeditated) doesn't it?
This is from the sentencing council.
GBH/Unlawful wounding (page 19 for sentencing) has a lot lower threshold than GBH/unlawful wounding with intent (page 17)
Annex A (page 28)states GBH maximum is 5 years. GBH with intent is maximum life.
Anyway, that should be a guideline for OPs purpose, If they can work out what he'd be charged
This is from the sentencing council.
GBH/Unlawful wounding (page 19 for sentencing) has a lot lower threshold than GBH/unlawful wounding with intent (page 17)
Annex A (page 28)states GBH maximum is 5 years. GBH with intent is maximum life.
Anyway, that should be a guideline for OPs purpose, If they can work out what he'd be charged
Some of the sentences meted out here in the UK sometimes make me wonder if those deciding upon the sentence live on the same planet as us other folk.
This is complicated because, as others have said, the sentance depends on whether it was 'with intent' or not - and that is pretty subjective.
The issue of the judge being male/female etc has NOTHING to do with the sentance, and to suggest so is to undermine all those people who have worked to become a judge.
For GBH without intent the max is 5 years, the minimum is no sentance. So you can have anywhere inbetween. Most people I have heard of with GBH have been in for a minimum term - usually a couple of months, or 2 years max. Most get a fine and community service.
In NI we have a 50% remission - which means that a prisoner serves half of the sentence they were given, so even if he got the full 5 years, he would probably only do 2 1/2
Life in the UK is generally 15-35 years, and the exact term is dictated by the crime.
The issue of the judge being male/female etc has NOTHING to do with the sentance, and to suggest so is to undermine all those people who have worked to become a judge.
For GBH without intent the max is 5 years, the minimum is no sentance. So you can have anywhere inbetween. Most people I have heard of with GBH have been in for a minimum term - usually a couple of months, or 2 years max. Most get a fine and community service.
In NI we have a 50% remission - which means that a prisoner serves half of the sentence they were given, so even if he got the full 5 years, he would probably only do 2 1/2
Life in the UK is generally 15-35 years, and the exact term is dictated by the crime.
What does your story need? You can swing this a lot of ways. I don't practice in England, but having glanced through the guidelines, and based upon how most prosecutors think, you're looking at a lot of time.
Sentencing guidelines provide a framework, although the reality is the results aren't much different with or without guidelines. Here you have legally relevant aggravating factors of:
According to the guidelines, GBH with intent could go two ways with your fact pattern. The judge could find that:Starting point for the judge would be 13 years custody with a range of 10 - 16 years. However, I think a judge would more likely find that"This would give a starting point of 8 years and a range of 7 - 10 years custody.
The guidelines explicitly state that these numbers are for first time offenders. My guess is your boy would do significantly more than than these numbers. If he walks with less than ten years, I'd be surprised.
You could see some lessening of this as a result of a plea agreement, although as I said, as a prosecutor I'd be starting with attempted murder here, so GBH with intent is a reduction.
As I said, I don't know the specifics of English law. But I can guarantee that no matter where you are in England or America, you're going to have a pissed off judge, which is not a good thing for a defendant.
Best of luck,
Jim Clark-Dawe
Sentencing guidelines provide a framework, although the reality is the results aren't much different with or without guidelines. Here you have legally relevant aggravating factors of:
- repeated assault
- serious injuries
- repeat offender
According to the guidelines, GBH with intent could go two ways with your fact pattern. The judge could find that:
The guidelines explicitly state that these numbers are for first time offenders. My guess is your boy would do significantly more than than these numbers. If he walks with less than ten years, I'd be surprised.
You could see some lessening of this as a result of a plea agreement, although as I said, as a prosecutor I'd be starting with attempted murder here, so GBH with intent is a reduction.
As I said, I don't know the specifics of English law. But I can guarantee that no matter where you are in England or America, you're going to have a pissed off judge, which is not a good thing for a defendant.
Best of luck,
Jim Clark-Dawe
Thank you so much for that! I need to know what he's likely to be doing 15 years from the offence, because I'm writing about his girlfriend's life. If he's still in prison, it's very convenient for me. If he could be out, I'll have to work out if he decides to come and harangue her, or if he disappears completely, or what. Unfortunately, she's still in contact with his sister and possibly his mum so...
And he was wearing heavy shoes, yes.
And he was wearing heavy shoes, yes.
But that isn't what I said, Shaldna. I said there might be specific circumstance in which a judge could be more empathetic towards a victim and, thus, sentence more harshly. They are, after all, 'judges' and to propose otherwise negates the need for a Court of Appeal.
Lapinou, if he were still in prison then he would probly be due out before long. Actually serving fifteen years would be a very heavy whack. It could be made a condition of his release that he doesn't go near her.
When he gets released is likely to depend heavily on how well he has behaved in prison. If he has not got into further trouble then he could easily serve half his sentence. If you need him to stay out of her life for longer just have him caught doing something that will keep from getting parole.
The trick to a long prison sentence is to make the character bad enough. England uses a minimum/maximum system apparently, where the guidelines dictate what that range should be. One of my favorite upticks by a judge was when the defendant, charged with beating up an undercover cop, screamed out to the jury when they convicted him, that the "Fucking narc deserved to have his balls turned into pussy, and you're fucking narcs if you believed him," said comment being directed at the jury, as the US Marshals jumped him and dragged him out. Judge in his written opinion added five years for that little outburst, which despite arguments (just barely with a straight face) by his attorney that the enhancement was not allowed under the guidelines, was.
Or while he's in prison, he keeps getting in trouble. Also, I'm guessing that he'd have to do something like anger management while in prison. One of my clients couldn't understand why the parole board would not let him go after he said in anger management that the "Fucking cunt deserved it." (The boy maxed his sentence, got released, and arrested within two weeks of his arrest. Reforming is not on his agenda.)
Just make your bad boy into a worst boy. I could definitely see, looking at the English guidelines, a sentence of 15 to life or an even higher minimum for an unrepentant repeat offender.
Best of luck,
Jim Clark-Dawe
Judges aren't allowed to take their own feelings into consideration when passing a sentence, that's why so many judges speak out that they have been effectively stifled by the law and they can't give, for instance, a pedophile the sentence he deserves.
And then he should be straight back into prison again. If the girl, or her lawyers, had any sense then they would take out a restraining order, or at the very least a non-molestation order.
If he were to contact her and threaten her again, she just has to phone the police and tell them he was breaking the terms of the order and he could be arrested there and then.
If he is released early on parole, getting in touch with her would be breaking the terms of his parole so he would be heading straight back in if she reported it.
