Paul Spence v. Her Majesty's Advocate [2007] HCJAC 64

Criminal Note of Appeal Against Sentence:- The appellant was convicted of culpable homicide and was sentenced to 8 years detention in a Young Offenders Institution. He appealed against that sentence. The appellant was indicted for murder and had offered in general terms a plea to culpable homicide, the charge that he was eventually convicted of. It was decided that this may be a case where guidance could be provided by the court under section 118(7) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995) as to the matter of sentence in circumstances where an accused had, it was said, offered to plead to a lesser charge and in the event had been convicted of that lesser charge. The sentence was appealed on two grounds:- (1) the youth and personal circumstances of the appellant and the "low level of violence" used and (2) the inadequacy of any discount for the appellant's offers to plead guilty to culpable homicide prior to the trial. At trial the jury heard that the appellant had voluntarily armed himself with a knife and deliberately used it upon an unarmed person, in circumstances where his action was neither justified nor mitigated by provocation. Here the court provided some general guidance as to the levels of discount which might be expected in the event of an intention to plead guilty being clearly indicated at particular stages in solemn proceedings and subsequently adhered to, with the maximum third discount for the earlierst section 76 pleas reducing down to a maximum of 10% for a plea at a trial diet. In relation to the present case the court considered whether the appellant's sentence of 8 years detention was excessive.