CRIMINAL APPEALS.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 2098, 12 April 1922, Page 5

CRIMINAL APPEALS.

PRONOUNCEMENT BY APPEAIi COURT. (Per Pres 3 Association.) WELLINGTON, Last Night. While giving judgment as to the appeal of Donald Pugh. who was sentenced at the Christchurch Supreme Court to five years' reformative treatment on his conviction on a charge of attempted carnal knowledge of a girl seven years of age, and who appealed against the length of his sentence, the Court of Appeal (Judges Stout, Sim, i Hosking. Stringer, and Adams) this mfoning made a definite pronouncei ment as to the position taken by the Court in regard to appeals from prisoners detained for reformative purposes. The Court had come to the conclusion, the judgment ran. that leave to appeal should be refused m every ease where the only punishment inflicted was reformative detention. The Prisons Board had the power to recommend to the Governor-General at any time, that a person undergoing a term of reformative detention should be released on probation, or discharged altogether, and the Governor General may give effect to such a recommendation. If, thererore, a prisoner iundergoing sentence of reformative detention desired to be released on I probation, or discharged altogether, ihe should ask the Prisons Board to i consider • his case, and to make a rei commendation in his favour. If the j case was one in which such a recomj mendation could not be obtained, then lit was not one in which the Court J would be disposed to reduce the term. of reformative detention. When a. I sentence of reformative detention was ] imposed, it was not contemplated that a prisoner would be detained for the j whole term, for that term was fixed. ! merely as a maximum period, it being expected that before the expiraI tion of that term the prisoner will. | have been found deserving of release. either qualiified or absolute. "It is: l useless, therefore," the judgment conJ tinued, "for this Court to ne asked to I consider the question of reducing that j maximum, and the Court has decided i to adopt the practice of refusing leave lin every such case. If this Court ; entertained applications for leave to (appeal in such cases, a refusal of | leave might be regarded by the Prij sons Board as an indication of opinion hostile to -the prisoner, and it | would thus interfere with the exereither qualified or absolute. "It is ! better, therefore, in tne Interests of j prisoners, for this Court to definitely ! adopt the practice indicated." The i application in the particular case was | refused accordingly.