Assistant Magistrate adjourns case to avoid custodial sentence

Tuesday 20 February 2018

Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris has adjourned the case of a 53-year-old woman - who said she didn't feel she was able to comply with her community service due to depression - to avoid imposing a custodial sentence.

She was sentenced to 120 hours community service and given 12 months' probation after she made "explicit" threats to kill her sister.

At the time, legal adviser Susie Sharpe told the Court that between 26 and 27 September, the lady sent messages to her sister threatening to kill her and instructing her to say goodbye to her children. After she was arrested, she admitted the messages sent, and the threats, and confirmed to officers  "...she had an intention of doing it and would still do it."

She appeared in Court on 20 February for failing to comply with the terms and conditions of her community service. She completed 25 hours but stopped attending shortly after Christmas. 

Defending Advocate Jonathan Turnbull told Court that she has "issues with long-standing depression that became exacerbated after Christmas." He added: "This is not an excuse, but due to her emotional state, she is not in the position of giving the court assurances that she would not have another slip up in the next three months or after that."

The Advocate told the Court that she takes medication for her "emotional depressive issues," and that she was recently admitted overnight at the hospital because of it. He said that although she understood that a failure to complete her community service would mean she would have to go to prison, she didn't want "to promise the Court something that she is not sure she will be able to do. She doesn't want to make promises that she is not able to comply with."

Advocate Turnbull said that there was "clearly a concern that depression is affecting her life," but Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris said that custody would not help her. He said: "I am not at all enthusiastic about imposing a custodial sentence in the circumstances."

The Assistant Magistrate decided to adjourn the sentencing for four weeks in order for a social enquiry report to be put together. In the meantime, he told her  that the restraining and probation orders were still in place and that she still had to attend community service, explaining that, "worst come to worst, if the Court decided there is no alternative to custody, the sentence imposed would be smaller if the number of hours outstanding was lower.  

He told her: "You can do the work, you are clearly capable of doing the work and that’s what I want you to do. (...) There are people in the room that want to help you. As long as you have people to help you, you want to help yourself as well."