R v Broughton

Isaac Cruz Eru Broughton was found guilty of murder and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The case was heard by Venning J in the High Court of New Zealand, Auckland Registry. The court had to decide whether it would be manifestly unjust to impose a sentence of life imprisonment for murder, what the appropriate finite sentence should be if life imprisonment was not imposed, and what the minimum non-parole period should be if life imprisonment was imposed for the murder. The court heard that Broughton had shot and killed Shon Wanahi and shot and grievously injured Bunji Fenton on 12 March 2016. The court found that it would not be manifestly unjust to impose a sentence of life imprisonment for murder. The court took into account the fact that Broughton had deliberately carried a loaded shotgun with apparent intent to use it to defend himself if necessary, and that the other group was unarmed. The court also took into account Broughton's previous convictions, including convictions for aggravated assault from 2012, and two convictions for common assault from 2010. The court sentenced Broughton to life imprisonment for the murder of Shon Wanahi, with a minimum non-parole period of 12 years. On the charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, the court sentenced Broughton to seven years concurrent.

The court found that the circumstances of the offending, including the use of excessive self-defence and Broughton's personal circumstances, warranted a sentence of life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 12 years. The court also found that Broughton's additional culpability for the offence of wounding Bunji Fenton with intent to cause grievous bodily harm required a further minimum non-parole period of an additional two years. The court noted that while Broughton had expressed remorse, he did not appear to have full insight into his offending, and the pre-sentence report did not suggest that he had accepted full responsibility for his offending.