R v P, NJ (No 3)

The case of R v P, NJ (No 3) involves the accused, P, NJ, who was convicted in 2003 of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and acquitted of attempted murder. He was sentenced to seven years in prison with a non-parole period of four years. The victim later died, leading to the accused being charged with murder. The accused applied for a permanent stay of the prosecution on the grounds that the provisions of the Criminal Law (Sentencing) (Dangerous Offenders) Amendment Act 2007 (SA) and the amendments it effected to the Criminal Law (Sentencing) Act 1988 (SA) would expose him to double punishment. The court was required to determine whether the amendments to the Sentencing Act allowed for the reduction of a mandatory minimum non-parole period for murder to reflect time already spent in custody for the offence of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and whether the sentence for murder could be backdated to account for the time spent in custody.

The court held that the wording of section 30(2) of the Sentencing Act would not allow for the reduction of the mandatory minimum non-parole period for murder to reflect time already spent in custody for the offence of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. However, the amendments to the Sentencing Act did not prevent the court from backdating a sentence for murder to account for a period spent in custody under section 30(1) of the Sentencing Act. The court also found that allowance could be made in sentencing for a mandatory minimum non-parole period to take account of the common elements of the offence of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and the offence of murder. Consequently, there was no warrant for a permanent stay of the proceedings, and the Rule 8 application dated 5 February 2008 was dismissed.