R v Jury

Raymond Jury was convicted of murdering Trevor Rikihana and appeared for sentencing. The offence involved a sustained and violent assault, where the defendant used a hammer to strike the victim's head and stomped on him while he was on the ground. The victim was a member of the same gang as the defendant, and the attack was over a debt repayment. The court considered the defendant's extensive criminal history, which included violent and sexual offences. The defendant also had a troubled upbringing involving abuse and family dysfunction.

The legal issues before the court were whether a sentence of life imprisonment was appropriate and whether it would be manifestly unjust to impose a minimum period of imprisonment of at least 17 years. The court found that the murder involved a high level of brutality and that the victim was particularly vulnerable, thus satisfying the criteria for a 17-year minimum term. The court also considered the defendant's background but found that it did not take his offending outside the scope of the legislative policy that such murders are sufficiently serious to warrant a 17-year minimum term. The court sentenced the defendant to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 17 years before he would be eligible to apply for parole.