R v Morton

Roy Ernest Morton pleaded guilty to attempted murder, specifically the attempted murder of his wife, Mrs Marion Morton, on 12 October 2020. The court heard that Mr Morton, aged 82, and his wife, aged 81, had been married for 57 years. Mrs Morton had suffered a severe stroke in August 2020, which left her with significant physical, mental, and cognitive disabilities, and she was unable to move unassisted. On 12 October 2020, Mr Morton took his wife from an aged care facility to his retirement village unit, where he had placed several coils of ventilation tubing, rolls of duct tape, and a knife. He drove to a secluded location, attached the ventilation tubing to his car exhaust pipe, and pumped the exhaust gases into the car while the engine was left running. The purpose was to kill both Mr Morton and his wife. However, a passing motorist saw what was happening, stopped nearby, and contacted the police. Mr Morton removed the tubing from the exhaust, put it back inside the car, and drove away. He was later located by police, arrested, and both he and Mrs Morton received medical attention. Mrs Morton was not physically harmed as a result of her husband's actions.

The court considered the purposes and principles of sentencing, including holding Mr Morton accountable for the harm caused to his wife and the community, promoting a sense of responsibility and acknowledging the harm caused by his offending, denouncing his conduct, and deterring him and others from committing the same or a similar offence. The court also considered the gravity of the offending, Mr Morton's degree of culpability, and the effect of his offending on the victim. In determining the appropriate sentence, the court took into account Mr Morton's age, good character, his remorse, and his medical health and mental state.

The court determined an adjusted starting point of 18 months' imprisonment, taking into account the aggravating factors of premeditation and Mrs Morton's vulnerability, and the mitigating factors of Mr Morton's guilty plea, age, good character, and genuine remorse. After applying a 50% discount to the starting point, the court arrived at a sentence of nine months' imprisonment. However, the court considered a non-custodial sentence as an alternative to imprisonment, and ultimately sentenced Mr Morton to four and a half months' home detention, subject to five special conditions, including restrictions on visiting his wife in the care facility unless given prior permission by the Department of Corrections officer responsible for the oversight of his home detention sentence and accompanied by an approved supervisor throughout the entire period of any visit.