How long would someone get if the wilfully reckless behaviour that caused the death was not driving connected
For example may a builder taking a massive shortcut with a heavy load which dropped and killed someone??
Is it the same or not??
genuine question - I've often wondered and never got round to finding out
For all of these the answer is the same.
The Judge refers to the sentencing guidelines for the offence that the defendant has been found guilty of. He/she then takes into account mitigating and aggravating factors to determine the sentence.
In the UK we have a rehabilitative / restorative justice system. The sentence is less about deterrent and more about rehabilitating the offender / keeping the streets safe. If you want punitive justice, look to the USA who have the highest incarceration rate in the world. Obviously it works really well as the USA is one of the lowest crime countries in the world...
Oh hang on....
The majority of crimes are petty and usually linked to poor education, poor mental health, addiction etc.
@Cycleops mentions the woman who deliberately drove the wrong way up the motorway to end her own life and ended up ending the life of a perfectly innocent driver. She pled guilty, she wrote to the Judge specifically, not out of contrition necessarily but to say that she recognised that what she had done was awful and that she deserved any sentence the Judge cared to pass. This will have mitigated her sentence. It won't bring back the deceased or help their family, but equally it doesn't make financial sense to keep someone locked up if they are not a danger to the public. She is likely to be assisted with her mental health.
Sentencing does have a deterrent element but most sentences are not deterrents (see the death penalty in the US, or vast life sentences for minor drug infractions in the same country).
In the case of the guy with drugs in his system, his offence is aggravated by his drugs charge and the fact that he was on drugs. Hence he is now sevrving 11.5 years in prison (from 2020).
He will be eligible for parole after 2/3rds of his sentence is complete, and this will be dependent on his fitness for the same. It should also be noted that being released on Parole is not the same as being released and finishing your sentence. Liberty is still curtailed, he will have regular check ins with his parole officer and certain activities may be restricted. It isn't the walk in the park that the Daily Mail et al would have you believe.
As usual I recommend @thesecretbarrister if you want to learn more about the law, and also how it is broken.
