R v McIver

The offender, Anthony Daniel McIver, was convicted of four offences: recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm, making a demand with a threat to endanger the health, safety or physical wellbeing of a person, possessing a knife without a reasonable excuse in a public place, and using a carriage service to menace, harass or threaten. The offender was sentenced to imprisonment on each offence. The sentencing judge, Mossop J, found that the offender's offending was in the mid-range of objective seriousness, with the exception of the offence of possessing a knife without a reasonable excuse in a public place, which was below the mid-range. The judge took into account the offender's subjective circumstances, including his difficult upbringing, limited education, and history of substance abuse. However, the judge found that the need for general deterrence of offending that involves violence inflicted by one prisoner upon another was a significant sentencing consideration. The judge also considered the prima facie breach of the offender's right under s 19(2) of the Human Rights Act, which provides that a remandee must be segregated from convicted people, except in exceptional circumstances. The judge found that there was a causal link between the offender's offending and his incarceration with sentenced prisoners. The final sentence imposed was four years and five months' imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 16 November 2024. The offender was also ordered to pay a fine of $500 on each count.