SUPREME COURT

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 126, 21 February 1921, Page 8

SUPREME COURT

SENTENCES AT AUCKLAND.

Dy Telegraph-Press Association.

Auckland, February 19. At the Supreme Court to-day, Alfred' George England was sentenced to five years and M onzl Joseph Schiska to three years’ iniprisoninent for nn. indecent offence, Patrick M’Kibbon, for forgery and false pretences, was sentenced to two yeais’ reformative detention. Thomas Aeedham, who killed his son with a broom, and Frederick Spearpoint, who killed his mother with an axe, came up for sentence. With respect to Needham, His Honour said.’ that though the jury were right in not accepting a plea of Insanity, it was shown that accused was of an excitable mental nature. If capable of ordinary human feeling, his remorse for having in a fit of savage passion destroyed the life of his own son would be greater punishment than any sentence the Court could inflict. He thought he would be giving full effect to tho jury’s recommendation in sentencing accused to five years’ imprisonment. In Spearpoint's case His Honour said there were some mitigating circumstances. Owing to the prisoner’s illhealth and other conditions, he probably acted on the impulse o'f the moment when ho committed the awful crime of killing his own mother. Accused would be im- , prisoned for four years.