R v Griffiths - [1993] QCA 559

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL [1993] QCA 559

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

C.A. No. 292 of 1993

Brisbane
[R. v. Griffiths]

BETWEEN:

T H E Q U E E N
v.
SHANE PAUL GRIFFITHS

(Appellant)
The President
Mr Justice Davies
Mr Justice Pincus

Judgment delivered 20/12/93
Joint reasons for judgment by Pincus and Davies JJA.

The President dissenting.

APPEAL AGAINST CONVICTION DISMISSED. APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO
APPEAL AGAINST SENTENCE REFUSED.

CATCHWORDS: CRIMINAL LAW - Manslaughter - evidence of admissions to four girls, with whom appellant acquainted, that he killed the deceased - deceased shot once through back of head - deceased was classmate of appellant - whether verdict unsafe and unsatisfactory - duty of appellate court.

Counsel:	S Herbert QC for the appellant. D Bullock for the respondent.
Solicitors:	Legal Aid Office for the appellant. Director of Prosecutions for the respondent.

Hearing Date: 8 October 1993
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

Appeal No. 292 of 1993

Brisbane

Before

The President
Mr Justice Davies
Mr Justice Pincus

[R. v. Griffiths]

BETWEEN:

T H E Q U E E N
v.
SHANE PAUL GRIFFITHS

(Appellant)

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT - THE PRESIDENT

Judgment delivered 20/12/93

The appellant has appealed against his conviction for manslaughter in the Supreme Court at Brisbane on 30 July 1993. He has also sought leave to appeal against the sentence imposed upon him, which was imprisonment for five years with a recommendation that he be considered for parole after eighteen months. The grounds of appeal are as follows:

"1. The learned Trial Judge erred in not allowing the
defence of accident to be considered by the Jury.
2. The verdict was unsafe and unsatisfactory insofar as it was based on the evidence of Jodie Parker, Janelle Bingham, Lee Anne Clarke, and Shandelle Smerdon, which evidence was demonstrably unreliable.
3. The sentence is manifestly excessive in all the circumstances."

The deceased, John Lachlan Apps, who was a classmate of the appellant at Caboolture State High School, disappeared on about 28 November 1989 and his skeletal remains were not found until 24 November, 1990, almost a year later. Medical evidence established that he died within 3 months of his disappearance. He had been shot once, through the back of the head, with a .22 weapon which possibly belonged to his father. Neither the weapon which caused the death of the deceased nor his father's rifle was found after the deceased disappeared.

The appellant, who was born on 2 September 1973, and the deceased, who was born on 23 September that year, were each 16 years of age when the deceased disappeared and the appellant was 19 years old when he was convicted and sentenced. He has no other criminal convictions and there is nothing to connect him to the death of the deceased except his statements to four girls with whom he and the deceased were acquainted. Some, at least, of the girls attended the same school as the appellant and the deceased and all seem to…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading R v Griffiths

Details

AGLC: R v Griffiths [1993] QCA 559
Case: [1993] QCA 559
Decision Date: 20 December 1993

CaseChat Overview and Summary

This appeal against conviction and sentence was heard by the Supreme Court of Queensland. The appellant, Shane Paul Griffiths, had been convicted of manslaughter in relation to the death of John Lachlan Apps, a fellow student. The appeal was based on three grounds: the trial judge erred in not allowing the defence of accident to be considered by the jury, the verdict was unsafe and unsatisfactory as it was based on the evidence of four girls who claimed the appellant confessed to killing the deceased, and the sentence was manifestly excessive. The court found that the evidence of the four girls, though imperfect, was collectively strong enough to support the conviction, and dismissed the appeal against conviction. The court also upheld the sentence imposed by the trial judge, finding it to be within the range of a sound discretion.

Orders