Director of Public Prosecutions v PM

In this case, the Director of Public Prosecutions brought a matter against an individual for their involvement in a violent attack which resulted in the death of a person. The case was heard by a judge alone in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The deceased died from multiple stab wounds sustained during the attack, which was captured on CCTV. The defendant, who was thirteen years old at the time of the offence, did not stab the deceased but was involved in the attack by kicking and stomping. The defendant's trial was severed from his co-accused. The court was required to consider whether the defendant knew his conduct was seriously wrong in a moral sense, in light of the presumption of doli incapax.

The court examined the defendant's moral development and considered expert psychiatric and psychological evidence. The court referred to the cases of RP v The Queen (2016) 259 CLR 641 and BDO v The Queen [2023] HCA 16 to determine whether the defendant's moral understanding was sufficiently developed to be held criminally liable for murder. The court considered the provisions of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 324 and the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic) s 534 in its decision. The court concluded that the defendant did have the requisite moral understanding to be held criminally liable for murder.

The court found the defendant guilty of murder and sentenced him to a term of imprisonment. The court considered the evidence of the CCTV footage and the expert psychiatric and psychological evidence in reaching its decision. The court found that the defendant's involvement in the attack was significant and that he had acted with the necessary intent to be found guilty of murder. The court took into account the defendant's age and moral development in its sentencing decision. The defendant was sentenced to a term of imprisonment with a non-parole period of 20 years.