R v Blake

The case of R v Blake was heard by the Supreme Court of Queensland's Court of Appeal. The appellant, Philip James Blake, was convicted of the murder of his wife, Tamee Maree Blake, and sentenced to life imprisonment. He appealed against both his conviction and his sentence. The primary legal issues were whether the trial judge erred in withdrawing the defence of provocation from the jury and whether the sentence should consider the time Blake spent in custody prior to sentencing.

Regarding the defence of provocation, the Court of Appeal held that the trial judge correctly determined that the evidence did not support a provocation defence. The deceased's words, revealing an affair and the intention to end the marriage, did not constitute circumstances of extreme and exceptional character necessary for provocation. The court found that mere words without any accompanying provocative conduct were insufficient to deprive an ordinary person of self-control to the extent of intentionally killing.

As for the sentence, the Court of Appeal concluded that the appellant's time in custody prior to sentencing should be considered as imprisonment already served under the sentence, rather than having the sentence take effect from the date of arrest. This interpretation would ensure the appellant's pre-sentence custody is factored into his eligibility for parole. The Court made an order that the 325 days Blake spent in custody should be counted as time already served under his sentence, but this period was not taken into account in imposing the sentence.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal against conviction but granted leave to appeal against the sentence. It allowed the appeal against the sentence and ordered that the time Blake spent in custody should be counted as imprisonment already served under his life sentence.