Minimum terms
High Court setting of minimum terms for mandatory life sentences under the Criminal Justice Act 2003
Case No: 2004/616/MTS
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEENS BENCH DIVISION
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL
Date: 27/03/2007
Neutral Citation Number: 682
Before :
THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE PITCHERS
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Between :
REGINA
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CALLUM EDWARD ALLEN
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Approved Judgment
I direct that pursuant to CPR PD 39A para 6.1 no official shorthand note shall be taken of this Judgment and that copies of this version as handed down may be treated as authentic.
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Mr Justice Pitchers:
1. On 20 February 2003, the Defendant, then aged 31 years, was convicted of murder at the Crown Court at Nottingham before Mr Justice Gage. Mr Justice Gage sentenced him to life imprisonment.
2. After passing the sentence referred to above, but before the commencement of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the trial judge made a report to the Home Secretary, in accordance with the practice then in operation, recommending the proper length of term that ought to be served for the purposes of retribution and general deterrence. He stated his view that the proper length of detention for these purposes was 16 years.
3. The Act came into force on 18 December 2003. By then, the Home Secretary had not notified the Defendant either of the minimum period which he thought he should serve before his release on licence or that he did not intend that he should ever be released on licence. Accordingly, the Home Secretary referred his case to the High Court under para. 6 of Schedule 22 to the Act for the making of an order under sections 269(2) or 269(4) of the Act.
4. The Defendant had been employed as a security guard at factory premises in Belper, Derbyshire. He had fallen out with another security guard and had burgled the premises to get that man into trouble. On 12 August 2001, after consuming ecstasy and alcohol, he burgled the premises again. While doing so, he came across a different security guard. He attacked him with a hammer, savagely beating him about the head causing severe injuries from which he died. The trial judge found that he had deliberately staged a confrontation with the deceased.
5. The aggravating factors in the case were:
i) murder in the course of burglary;
ii) the victim was a security guard;
iii) the Defendant deliberately caused a confrontation with the victim;
iv) having disabled the victim, the Defendant subjected him to two further attacks; in the final stage of the attack the Defendant intended to kill.
6. The only mitigating factor was the absence of previous convictions for violence.
7. I have read and considered representations on behalf of the Defendant.
8. Were the minimum term to be set in accordance with Schedule 21 of the Act, the starting point would probably have been 30 years as a minimum term because this was a murder for gain in the course of burglary. Even if the trial judge had been persuaded that 15 years was the correct starting point, the term would have been substantially raised because of the serious aggravating features. The term would without question have been significantly longer then 16 years. However, the term specified now must not be longer than would have been specified at the time of the offence. I therefore specify a minimum term of 16 years. I must also give credit for the time served on remand prior to sentence: 18 months 4 days. Accordingly, I order that the the early release provisions in sections 28(5) to (8) of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 apply to this Defendant as soon as he has served 14 years, 5 months, 26 days.