Thomas, R v

An offender who offers a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity should receive the full one-third reduction where there is no proper basis to withhold it. The strength of the prosecution case, including available CCTV evidence, will not by itself justify a reduced discount unless its nature warrants that course. A sentencing judge should explain any departure from full credit for an early plea.

Thomas and Brown pleaded guilty at Blackfriars Crown Court to three theft counts. The prosecution did not proceed with three burglary counts. Each had entered telephone-card shops with the other and participated in thefts totalling just under £1,000.

Brown received concurrent terms of 24 months’ imprisonment. Thomas received concurrent terms of 22 months, with three months of a suspended sentence activated consecutively. The judge allowed 20% credit for the guilty pleas without explaining why. The appeals concerned whether sufficient credit had been allowed.

1. The appeals were allowed. Both appellants had offered guilty pleas to the theft counts at the earliest opportunity. They should therefore have received the full one-third reduction for those pleas.
2. The judge had allowed only 20% credit and gave no explanation for doing so. The respondent suggested that the judge may have withheld full credit because the prosecution case was overwhelming. The court rejected that explanation. It did not appear in the sentencing remarks and, although CCTV evidence made the case strong, its nature did not justify withholding full credit.
3. For Brown, the judge’s starting point of 30 months’ imprisonment reduced by one-third produced concurrent sentences of 20 months. The concurrent 24-month sentences were quashed and replaced accordingly.
4. For Thomas, the court preserved the judge’s relative assessment of his less serious antecedents. The concurrent 22-month sentences were quashed and replaced with concurrent terms of 18 months. The three-month activation of the suspended sentence remained consecutive, producing a total sentence of 21 months. Ancillary orders were unaffected.

• Court of Appeal (Criminal Division): Allowed both sentencing appeals and substituted reduced concurrent sentences.
• Crown Court at Blackfriars: Imposed concurrent terms of 24 months on Brown and 22 months on Thomas, with partial consecutive activation of Thomas’s suspended sentence.