N.R.L. v. His Majesty’s Advocate [2025] HCJAC 4

Note of appeal against sentence:- At the high court the appellant pled guilty, under the accelerated procedure, to a charge of culpable homicide by assaulting a bus driver in Elgin by head-butting him and repeatedly punching him on the body, in consequence of which the bus driver collapsed and died. Following the obtaining of a Criminal Justice Social Work Report the sentencing judge ordered that the appellant be detained for 4 years and 4 months, reduced from 6 years and 6 months on account of the plea of guilty. The appellant appealed against his sentence it being contended that it was excessive. The circumstances were that the deceased, aged 58 at the time of his death, who was employed as a bus driver in Elgin, refused entry to the appellant on to his bus due to his state of intoxication. The appellant became agitated and upset and began arguing with the deceased. The deceased refused to move the bus until the appellant got off and when he did the deceased made his way to the concourse and they continued to remonstrate with each other as the appellant called the police to complain about the deceased. The appellant pointed his mobile phone at the deceased as if filming him and the deceased then grabbed the phone resulting in a physical struggle during which the appellant head-butted him and the struggle continued and the deceased threw the phone to the ground and repeatedly stamped on it. The appellant then lost control and repeatedly punched the deceased’s head and body which the deceased did not retaliate to but he tried to get away from the appellant before collapsing unconscious and dying. At post mortem it was found that the deceased had several areas of swelling and bruising to his face and head, which were all minor blunt force injuries which did not per se contribute to his death, however, he was found to have significant narrowing of the coronary arteries with areas of apparent scarring present and was at risk of a sudden fatal cardiac event at any time. It was most likely that the physical altercation with the appellant had led to increased blood pressure and cardiac arrhythmia followed by cardiac arrest. The appellant had fractured a bone in his hand as a result of his assault on the deceased. It was submitted on behalf of the appellant that the headline sentence was excessive. He was 15 years of age at the time of the commission of the offence and it was submitted the level of the appellant’s culpability was low. It was submitted that insufficient weight had been given to the conduct of the deceased and whilst it was recognised that an assailant must take his victim as he finds him there were a number of health conditions including diabetes and significant narrowing of his coronary arteries with areas of apparent scarring present which played a role in his death. It was further submitted that the appellant had demonstrated clear insight and remorse and had made significant efforts towards rehabilitation and these were factors which the sentencing judge gave insufficient weight to. Here the court refused the appeal against sentence. The court considered that a discount of no more than 25% would have been appropriate given the period of time that elapsed between the appellant’s first appearance and his plea of guilty. In addition, the court noted that the sentencing judge had considered the importance of rehabilitation and the best interests of the appellant given his age. The court noted that whilst the deceased had reacted to the appellant’s behaviour by stamping on his phone, the appellant had assaulted him with sufficient force to break a bone in his hand and described the assault of the deceased as a sustained one involving several blows. The court also observed that the deceased was acting in the course of his employment serving members of the public. The court also noted that the appellant had previously assaulted a bus driver.