Heer, R v

In sentencing for unlawful act manslaughter, bringing a knife to the scene may be treated as a separate and significant aggravating factor where the features establishing high culpability would have existed even if the weapon had been obtained at the scene. That does not amount to double counting.

Previous convictions for weapons and violence may cumulatively aggravate sentence. It is also permissible to take account both of the offending underlying a recent conviction and of the fact that the new offence was committed while the offender was subject to the resulting community order. A conditional offer to plead guilty, dependent on the prosecution not pursuing murder, is neither an unequivocal indication of plea nor mitigation of sentence.

The applicant was convicted at Birmingham Crown Court of manslaughter after fatally stabbing Dale Grice at a wake. He had arrived intoxicated and carrying a large kitchen knife. Following an exchange outside the house, Mr Grice threw a punch and the applicant inflicted a single, forceful stab wound to his back.

On 10 August 2020, the Crown Court imposed 15 years’ imprisonment. The sentencing judge placed the offence in category B under the unlawful act manslaughter sentencing guidelines, with a starting point of 12 years and a range of 8 to 16 years.

The applicant renewed his application for leave to appeal sentence, contending that the sentence was manifestly excessive. He challenged the treatment of aggravating factors, alleged double counting, and relied on mitigation including remorse, personal circumstances and conditional offers to plead guilty to manslaughter.

1. The renewed application for leave to appeal sentence was dismissed. The court concluded that the 15-year sentence was neither manifestly excessive nor wrong in principle.

2. The judge had been entitled to regard the applicant’s bringing of the knife to the scene as a significant aggravating factor. The offence would still have been category B if he had obtained the knife at the house, because the forceful stabbing itself was an unlawful act carrying an obvious high risk of death or grievous bodily harm. Treating the prior carriage of the knife as aggravating therefore did not duplicate the factor establishing category B.

3. The applicant’s prior convictions, taken together, were a significant aggravating feature. They included offences involving weapons, violence and an earlier use of a knife against a police officer. The court also held that intoxication could aggravate the offence, particularly if the applicant was not violent when sober. It was not double counting to take account both of the recent offending and of the fact that the present offence was committed while he was subject to the community order imposed for it.

4. The cumulative aggravation entitled the sentencing judge to move to the top of the guideline range before allowing for mitigation. The applicant’s offers to plead guilty to manslaughter were conditional on the prosecution abandoning its murder case. They were not an unequivocal indication of plea and carried no sentencing significance, particularly as he instead advanced self-defence at trial. The judge had accepted genuine remorse and considered the personal mitigation and supportive material. No further reduction was required.

• Court of Appeal (Criminal Division): renewed application for leave to appeal against the 15-year sentence dismissed: [2021] EWCA Crim 717.
• Crown Court at Birmingham: applicant convicted of manslaughter on 12 March 2020 and sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment on 10 August 2020.