Heather du Plessis-Allan: We need more minimum sentences

On the Government considering minimum sentences, I would have no problem with this.

I realise the judiciary aren't going to love it because it's tying their hands.

But frankly, that is the point.

Because some of the sentencing discounts that have been handed down by judges are frankly outrageous.

The worst case that I've come across is the case of a rapist who attacked a woman in Albert Park in Auckland three years ago.

He was given a discount of 77% by the judge for being young, for pleading guilty, for being good before that and for trying to be better after that.

The defence lawyer had sought discounts totalling 110%.

Discounting to that point feels like nothing more than trying to get as light of a sentence as possible.

Now, I know the Government has already amended the law so judges are limited to handing down discounts of no more than 40%.

But that doesn't fix the problem entirely because there are still ways to game that, for example by simply beginning with a low starting point, so that by the time you've discounted to the max of 40% you end up at the low point you want.

We seem to think if you're in jail for murder that's a bit much and I don't think it is.

A minimum sentence sets a bar below which even the craftiest judge can't fall.

The problem with it is obviously the risk that it becomes the default sentence but if that starts happening then that can be dealt with.

Also, this is not a novel idea.

They do this in the U.S, in the UK, in Australia, in Singapore etc. And I see a case for us doing it too.

If you're discounting three quarters of a sentence, you've got a problem.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
On the government asking for potentially considering minimum sentences. If
they go ahead with this, I would have absolutely no
problem whatsoever. And I realize that the judiciary are not
going to love this a la Sir Ron Young, who
was just on with us before, because it's tying their hands.
But that is actually the point, because some of the
sentencing discounts that have been handed down by judges are

(00:21):
frankly outrageous. And the worst case I've come across as
the one that I was talking to Ron about, which
is the case of a rapist to attack the woman
in Albert Park in Auckland Central about three years ago.
This guy was given a discount of seventy seven percent
by the judge. He was discounted for being young, He
was discounted for pleading guilty. He was discounted for being

(00:43):
a good boy before that, which I very much doubt.
He was discounted for being for trying to be better
after that, which I also have my doubts about. The
defense Seventy seven percent actually was not that bad because
the defense lawyer was looking for discounts totaling one hundred
and ten percent. How do you possibly discount more than
one hundred percent, But this is the game that they're playing.
Discounting to that point feels like nothing more than trying

(01:04):
to get as light a sentence as possible. Now. I
know that the government has already mandated that the laws
the judges are only able to limit their discounts to
forty percent, but I don't even think that that fixes
the problem entirely, hence needing a minimum, because there are
still ways to gain that right. A judge can simply
start at a very low point discounted to forty percent,
and end up at the low point that they want to.

(01:25):
Judges clearly seem to think that fifteen years in jail
for murder is maybe a little bit much. I don't
think that's a bit much. I think that's life. I
think if you take a life, fifteen years to me
seems like getting off quite lightly. A minimum sets a
bar below which even the craftiest judge can't fall. The
problem with it, obviously, is the risk that that becomes
the default sentence. Right but if that starts happening, we

(01:45):
can deal with that later. And this is not a
novel idea, by the way, It's not like we're being cruel.
They do this in the States. They do this in
the UK, they do this in Australia, they do this
in Singapore, and the list goes on, and I can
see now a case for us doing it too, because
if you are discounting three core waters of a sentence,
I think you've got a problem. For more from The
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(02:07):
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