R v Adam Anthony Fletcher

Under paragraph 4 of Schedule 21 to the Sentencing Act 2020, carrying a knife from a house or flat into an external area will normally amount to taking it to the scene, even where the distance is short. The sentencing judge must be sure that the offender took the knife intending to commit an offence or have it available as a weapon, and used it in the murder. The 25-year figure is a starting point, not a fixed minimum. Aggravating and mitigating factors must be assessed, with reductions available in borderline cases to avoid unjustified differences in sentence. The Court of Appeal will not intervene without an error of principle or an excessive sentence.

The appellant was convicted of murder after trial in the Crown Court at Liverpool and sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 22 years less time spent on remand. He appealed against sentence.

He argued that the knife had not been taken to the scene because it was carried only a short distance from the kitchen to outside the property. He also challenged the finding that it had been carried as a concealed weapon of surprise and argued that insufficient weight had been given to mitigation. The central issues were the application of paragraph 4 of Schedule 21 to the Sentencing Act 2020 and whether the resulting minimum term was excessive.

Appeal dismissed. There was no error of principle and the minimum term was not excessive.

1. Paragraph 4 of Schedule 21 to the Sentencing Act 2020 applied if the sentencing judge was sure that the offender had taken a knife to the scene intending to commit an offence or have it available as a weapon, and had used it in committing the murder. Whether that condition was met was a question of fact for the sentencing judge.
2. The distinction drawn in R v Kelly and Others [2011] EWCA Crim 1462; [2012] 1 Cr App R(S) 56 and R v Paul Dillon [2015] EWCA Crim 3 was applied. A knife taken from a kitchen to another part of the same house would not normally be regarded as taken to the scene. A knife carried outside the house or flat, including into a public area, normally would be. The movement from the kitchen through the hallway and out to the front of the property therefore satisfied the condition, despite the short distance.
3. The 25-year figure was only a starting point. Aggravating and mitigating factors concerning culpability and harm had to be assessed. The short period for which the appellant possessed the knife, the short distance travelled and the spontaneity of the violence were properly taken into account. The authorities also required courts to avoid major differences in sentence based on fine distinctions between cases of similar culpability.
4. The sentencing judge was not undecided about whether the knife was concealed as a weapon of surprise. The alternatives of carrying it behind the back or by the side concerned the precise manner of concealment, not the central finding that the knife was concealed so that the deceased would not see it before the stabbing.
5. The aggravating factors included the presence of others and disposal of the knife after the killing. The reduction from 25 to 22 years properly reflected the relevant circumstances. The appeal was accordingly dismissed.

1. Court of Appeal (Criminal Division): The appeal against sentence was dismissed under [2023] EWCA Crim 910.
2. Crown Court at Liverpool: Following conviction after trial for murder, the appellant was sentenced on 21 September 2022 to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years, less 269 days spent on remand.