Regina v Leslie Arthur Davidson Petty - [2002] NSWSC 1220

CITATION: REGINA v Leslie Arthur Davidson PETTY [2002] NSWSC 1220

FILE NUMBER(S): SC 001003

HEARING DATE(S): 22/11/02

JUDGMENT DATE: 12 December 2002

PARTIES :

REGINA
Leslie Arthur Davidson PETTY (Applicant)

JUDGMENT OF: Bell J at 1

COUNSEL : R. Hulme SC (Crown)
J. Stratton (Applicant)

SOLICITORS: SE O'Connor
Legal Aid Commission of NSW

LEGISLATION CITED: Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999

CASES CITED: Mill v The Queen (1988) 166 CLR 59
Regina v Maiden [2000] NSWCCA 519
R v Miles [2002] NSWCCA 276
R v Previtera (1997) 94 A Crim R 76
R v Purdey (1992) 65 A Crim R 441

DECISION: Re-sentenced to imprisonment for twenty-five years to date from 22 September 1988; That sentence will expire on 21 September 2013; Non-parole period of twenty years and six months specified; The first date upon which the applicant will be eligible for consideration for release to parole is 21 March 2009

IN THE SUPREME COURT
OF NEW SOUTH WALES
CRIMINAL DIVISION

BELL J

12 December 2002

001003 REGINA v Leslie Arthur Davidson PETTY
JUDGMENT

1 BELL J: This is an application brought pursuant to Sch 1 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (“the Act”) by Leslie Arthur Davidson Petty for the determination of a term and a non-parole period for the sentence of life imprisonment that was imposed on him by Hunt J following his conviction for the murder of Mark Gerald White at Glenreagh on 25 November 1987.

2 The applicant was jointly tried with a co-offender, Steven Arthur Maiden (“Maiden”) for the murder of Mark White. Both were convicted. Both were sentenced to terms of penal servitude for life. Those sentences were expressed to commence on the day they were imposed, 22 September 1988.

3 On 8 April 1999 Dunford J re-sentenced Maiden to a term of penal servitude for a minimum of eighteen and a half years commencing on 21 September 1988. An additional term of six years was imposed. The earliest date upon which Maiden will be eligible for release on parole is 20 March 2007. Maiden appealed against the severity of the redetermined sentence. On 13 December 2000 that appeal was dismissed: Regina v Maiden [2000] NSWCCA 519. I will return to the significance of the redetermined sentence imposed upon Maiden in due course.

4 The applicant and Maiden escaped from Cooma Jail on 11 October 1987. They travelled to South Australia where they remained for several weeks.

5 On or about 21 November 1987 they left South Australia and drove to Sydney in a stolen car. They were accompanied by two men, Thomas Patterson and Ronald Crawley on this trip. After a brief stopover the four continued their journey north arriving in the Nambucca River area on 24 November 1987.

6 The deceased, Mark White, was aged seventeen years. He and his fifteen-year-old girlfriend, Danielle Curry, left Sydney on 23 November 1987 intending to hitchhike north to visit a friend who was believed to be living in the Coffs Harbour area. On…

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 Regina v Leslie Arthur Davidson Petty

Details

AGLC: Regina v Leslie Arthur Davidson Petty [2002] NSWSC 1220
Case: [2002] NSWSC 1220
Decision Date: 12 December 2002

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Leslie Arthur Davidson Petty applied for a determination of the term and non-parole period for the sentence of life imprisonment imposed on him for the murder of Mark Gerald White. Petty and his co-offender Steven Arthur Maiden were jointly tried and convicted of the murder, and both received life sentences. The application was brought under the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999. The legal issues the court had to decide included whether to set a specified term for the sentence, set a non-parole period, or decline to specify either a term or non-parole period. The court also had to consider the applicant's culpability for the offence, his criminal history, and his progress towards rehabilitation while in custody.

The court decided to set a specified term for the sentence, together with a non-parole period. The court found that Petty's culpability for the offence was not to be distinguished from Maiden's. The court also took into account the applicant's medical condition, his age, and his progress towards rehabilitation while in custody. The court determined a sentence of twenty-five years, with a non-parole period of twenty years and six months. The sentence would expire on 21 September 2013, and Petty would be eligible for consideration for release to parole on 21 March 2009.

Orders