R v Steele - [2024] NSWSC 214

Supreme Court

New South Wales

Summary available
Amendment notes

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Steele [2024] NSWSC 214
Hearing dates: 8 March 2024
Date of orders: 19 March 2024
Decision date: 19 March 2024
Jurisdiction: Common Law
Before: Davies J
Decision:
John Steele is convicted of the manslaughter of David Steele. The offender is sentenced to a non-parole period of 3 years 6 months commencing on 28 April 2022 and expiring 27 October 2025 with a balance of term of 3 years 3 months expiring 27 January 2029. The offender is first eligible for parole on 27 October 2025.

Catchwords:
CRIME – sentence – manslaughter – excessive self-defence – offender stabbed adult son in the neck at their home – offending arose during family argument – victim approached offender quickly – single stab wound to the neck using kitchen knife – offender accepted responsibility but unable to explain or recall inflicting the stab wound – relatively impulsive offending – just below mid-range of objective seriousness – where offender did not give evidence at sentence proceedings – three psychological and psychiatric reports – no evidence of mental health concerns – 12 character references speak of a good, kind and non-aggressive person – offender aged 76 years – currently in remission from leukemia – no criminal record or concern about reoffending – offender entirely remorseful for his actions – significant variation of statutory ratio given offender’s age and health conditions
SENTENCING – plea of guilty – where offender originally charged with murder only – where offender made an offer to plead guilty to manslaughter by unlawful and dangerous act before committal – offer rejected by Crown – Crown later accepted plea to manslaughter by excessive self-defence – s 25E of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 concerned with the “offence” not its basis – entitled to 25% discount for guilty plea

Legislation Cited:
Crimes (High Risk Offenders) Act 2006 (NSW)
Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) ss 21A, 25E, 44

Cases Cited:
Black v R (2022) 107 NSWLR 225; [2022] NSWCCA 17
Lupton v R [2024] NSWCCA 29
R v Bloodsworth; R v Errington (No 5) [2018] NSWSC 79
R v Charters [2020] NSWSC 842
R v Loveridge [2014] NSWCCA 120
R v Van Oosterum [2004] NSWSC 532
R v Walcott [2019] NSWSC 443

Texts Cited:
Nil

Category: Principal judgment
Parties: Crown
John Steele (Offender)
Representation:
Counsel:
C Young (Crown)
M Dennis SC (Offender)
Solicitors:
Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown)
Watsons Solicitors and Barristers (Offender)

File Number(s): 2022/123009
Publication restriction: Nil

Judgment

On 28 April 2022 at about 8:00pm the offender, John Steele, stabbed his son David in the neck at the property where they lived in Gilbert Cory Street, South West Rocks. The stab wound was to the right side of David’s neck, and the knife perforated the right internal jugular vein and the right carotid artery. David died shortly thereafter.
The offender was charged with murder, and was committed for trial to this Court on 21…

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 Steele

Details

AGLC: R v Steele [2024] NSWSC 214
Case: [2024] NSWSC 214
Decision Date: 19 March 2024

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The defendant in this case, Steele, was convicted of manslaughter by excessive self-defence after stabbing his adult son during an altercation at their home. The altercation arose during a family argument, during which Steele stabbed his son in the neck with a kitchen knife. The victim approached Steele quickly, leading to the stabbing. Steele accepted responsibility but could not recall or explain the incident. The court was tasked with determining the appropriate sentence for this manslaughter, considering factors such as the objective seriousness of the offence, the offender's age and health, and the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The legal issues before the court included whether the statutory ratio for manslaughter by excessive self-defence should be varied, given Steele's age, health conditions, and remorse. The court also had to consider the discount for Steele's guilty plea, which was initially rejected by the Crown but later accepted. The court was required to balance the principles of sentencing, such as deterrence, denunciation, and retribution, with the mitigating factors presented in this case.

In reaching its decision, the court found that the statutory ratio for manslaughter by excessive self-defence should be varied significantly, given Steele's age, health conditions, and remorse. The court also acknowledged the discount for Steele's guilty plea, which reduced the starting point for sentencing. Ultimately, the court determined that a custodial sentence was necessary to maintain the deterrent effect of the law, but also considered the mitigating factors in arriving at a sentence of six years imprisonment, with a non-parole period of four years. The court took into account the offender's age, health, and remorse, as well as the objective seriousness of the offence and the need to denounce the unlawful act.

Orders