One-Punch Mandatory Sentencing Bill Introduced Into Victorian Parliament

Tuesday 26 August 2014 @ 10.58 a.m. | Crime

Last week, the Napthine Government introduced the Sentencing Amendment (Coward’s Punch Manslaughter and Other Matters) Bill 2014 into the Victorian Parliament.  The Bill aims to introduce a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years for “one-punch” manslaughter.

The Bill would add an extra section 4A to the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic), that states that a single punch or strike is to be taken to be a dangerous act for the purposes of the law relating to manslaughter.  It also specifies that this applies “regardless of whether the death is caused directly by the punch, or by the person striking their head as they fall”.

In a media release, Dr Napthine said the legislation reflected the “need to send a very clear message about the tragic consequences that can flow from a moment of violence”:

“A single punch to the head without warning can too often cause death or lifelong injuries. Often victims are young people with their whole lives ahead of them…

Claims of ignorance of the consequences of a single blow to the head will no longer be an excuse.”

The Bill would make Victoria the jurisdiction with the toughest laws on “one punch” killings, with New South Wales recently introducing mandatory eight-year prison terms that apply to people under the influence of drugs or alcohol who throw a fatal punch.

The Bill also aims to introduce a mandatory 10 year minimum sentence for “manslaughter in circumstances of gross violence”, where an offender in company with 2 or more other persons causes the death of a victim, in circumstances where the offence was planned in advance or there was a “sustained or prolonged attack”.

Attorney-General Robert Clark said in a media release that the amendments were in response to:

“horrific and terrifying attacks in which gangs viciously kick and stomp a victim, resulting in death. Offenders are also deliberately carrying and using knives in street fights where the victim is fatally stabbed… This will better protect the community by deterring these gang attacks and by putting violent gang offenders behind bars for longer.”

As was the case with the New South Wales laws, there has been opposition to the proposed legislation in Victoria.  Criminal Bar Association chairman Peter Morrissey SC told The Age that the Association “opposed the laws which removed too much of the judges' discretion and undermined the public's faith in the courts and justice system.”  He strongly criticised the move, saying it was politically opportunistic:

“In most other places in the world you would serve between three and five [years]…  It is just a short-term political move. It's an election year auction, having nothing to do with justice, and there is no reason to stop at 10 years; next year they'll say 20 years.

It really does undermine the courts, because the message is 'the courts are too soft'. The reality is the courts are not too soft at all; Australia is comparatively a very heavy sentencing country compared to the rest of the world.”

In a piece for The Conversation, Associate Professor John Anderson from the University of Newcastle, wrote that

“mandatory sentencing will not prevent or deter “coward punch” assaults. These are generally opportunistic crimes that do not involve any considered thought before the event. That is particularly so when the perpetrator is under the influence of alcohol or drugs… Research from the Victorian government’s Sentencing Advisory Council clearly shows that increasing the length of prison sentences “does not produce a corresponding increase in deterrence”.”

The Bill is currently at the Second Reading stage in the Legislative Assembly

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