R v Akok

The respondent, Akok, was convicted of murder following a plea of guilty. He had killed a person while aged 18. He was a Sudanese refugee who was in the prodromal stage of schizophrenia at the time of the offence. The Court of Appeal was asked to consider whether the sentence imposed was manifestly inadequate. The central issue was whether the sentence was manifestly inadequate, given the circumstances of the offence and the offender. The Court noted the objective and subjective circumstances of the offence, including the intent to kill, the use of a weapon, and the age of the offender at the time of the offence. The Court also considered the offender’s mental health, including his diagnosis of treatment-resistant schizophrenia in custody. The Court found that the case was a strong subjective one, but noted that the offender’s age at the time of the offence and his mental health at the time of the offence were factors that ought to be taken into account. The Court found that the sentence imposed was manifestly inadequate and ordered a retrial on sentence.