Caswell & Ors v R.

For the seriousness condition for a life sentence under section 225(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the sentencing court must assess the offence and associated offending, relevant previous convictions, danger to the public and the available alternative sentences. A sentencing judge may find that a conspiracy continued and that later conduct furthered it despite the acquittal of alleged co-conspirators, provided the evidence supports that conclusion.

Life sentences for conspiracy to murder were justified where parallel plans to kill creditors arose from major drug debts, the defendants actively sought professional killers and arranged for a loaded, silenced firearm, and the plans ended only through police intervention.

Caswell and Ellis were convicted at Lewes Crown Court of two conspiracies to murder, alongside substantial drug-related offending. Each received life imprisonment with a 14-year minimum term. Gardiner pleaded guilty to two heroin conspiracies and was convicted of a cocaine conspiracy, for which he received concurrent sentences of up to nine years.

Caswell renewed his application for permission to appeal his murder-conspiracy convictions. He contended that the acquittals of three co-defendants meant that evidence concerning events on 1 March 2016, including the transfer of a firearm, was irrelevant and prejudicial. Caswell and Ellis appealed their life sentences. Gardiner renewed his application for permission to appeal sentence.

1. Caswell’s renewed application against conviction was dismissed. The acquittals of the three co-defendants did not mean that the jury had rejected the Crown’s case that the events of 1 March were connected with the conspiracies between Caswell and Ellis. They showed only that the jury was not sure that those co-defendants had joined the conspiracies. The judge was entitled to treat the transfer of the loaded, silenced firearm as powerful evidence that the plan between Caswell and Ellis was being put into effect.

2. The summing up fairly and repeatedly identified Caswell’s case that the drug debt was Ellis’s and that he was attempting to mediate and facilitate Ellis’s kidnapping. No additional prohibitory direction was required. The summing up disclosed no arguable defect.

3. The sentence appeals of Caswell and Ellis were dismissed. Applying the four considerations stated in R v Burinskas [2014] EWCA Crim 334, the court held that the judge had carefully and balancedly assessed the seriousness of the conspiracies, the appellants’ records, danger to the public and alternative sentences under section 225(2)(b) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The evidence showed that the conspiracies continued after the early-morning messages of 29 February and that both appellants took serious, purposeful steps towards securing the killings.

   Although the substantive murders were not imminent, the judge could find that the plans were frustrated by police intervention. The drug debts, intended use of a firearm and professional killers, persistent Class A drug dealing, and persistence after disruption notices justified life sentences. The 14-year minimum terms were not arguably excessive.

4. Gardiner’s renewed application for permission to appeal sentence was refused. The judge was entitled to place the drug offending in Category 2 and treat Gardiner as operating at least at the lower end of a significant role. The nine-year provisional sentence, and the reduction to six years for the timely guilty pleas, were within the proper range and gave proper weight to mitigation.

• Court of Appeal (Criminal Division): In Caswell & Ors v R [2019] EWCA Crim 1106, Caswell’s renewed application against conviction was dismissed; the sentence appeals of Caswell and Ellis were dismissed; and Gardiner’s renewed application for permission to appeal sentence was refused.
• Lewes Crown Court: Following trial before HHJ Laing QC, Caswell and Ellis were convicted of conspiracies to murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with 14-year minimum terms. Gardiner was sentenced for heroin and cocaine supply conspiracies.