Withers v the Queen (No 2)

The case of Withers v the Queen (No 2) involved an appellant who had originally been convicted of murder and subsequently pleaded guilty to two counts of incitement to murder. The appellant appealed against the murder conviction, and the appeal was successful, leading to a substitution of the conviction to manslaughter pursuant to section 569(2) of the Crimes Act 1958. The Court of Appeal proceeded to re-sentence the appellant, treating the offence as unlawful and dangerous act manslaughter.

The primary legal issue before the court was to determine the appropriate sentence for the appellant following the successful appeal and the substitution of the conviction to manslaughter. The court had to consider the seriousness of the offending and whether the precedent set by R v Verdins was applicable in this context. The court also had to balance the appellant’s culpability with the nature of the unlawful and dangerous act manslaughter.

In considering the legal issues, the court found that the offending was indeed a serious example of unlawful and dangerous act manslaughter, warranting significant punishment. The court acknowledged the precedent of R v Verdins but also recognised the need to tailor the sentence to the specific circumstances of this case. Ultimately, the court sentenced the appellant to eight years' imprisonment for the manslaughter conviction, making the total effective sentence thirteen years with a non-parole period of nine years. The court concluded that this sentence reflected the seriousness of the offending and the appellant’s culpability.

The final orders of the court were that the appellant's conviction for murder was substituted to manslaughter, and he was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment for the manslaughter conviction, with a total effective sentence of thirteen years and a non-parole period of nine years.