R v Ingram

The appellants, Alexander Ingram and Stephen Macris, were convicted of manufacturing MDA, a class A analogue of MDMA, a class B drug. The Court of Appeal considered whether the sentencing Judge was right to decline to apply the guideline judgment in R v Fatu in relation to methamphetamine, and instead to distinguish between class A drugs for sentencing purposes. The Court found that the sentencing Judge was correct to decline to apply Fatu, and that intra-class differentiation based on harm was an appropriate approach. The Court also considered the starting point for Mr Macris’ sentence and found it too high. Mr Macris’ appeal was allowed and his sentence was reduced to three years and 11 months’ imprisonment on all charges.