Aves Manslaughter Case

Manawatu Times, Volume 64, Issue 98, 28 April 1939, Page 7

Aves Manslaughter Case

SENTENCE REDUCED BY FIVE YEARS Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, Last Night. J udgment was given to-day by the Court of Appeal in the case of Colin Herbert Hercock who on April 26 appealed from the sentence of twelve years’ imprisonment with hard labour imposed by the Chief Justice, Sir Michael Myers, at Napier upon conviction for the manslaughter or lsobel Annie Aves. The Court to-day allowed the appeal and reduced the sentence to seven years* imprisonment with hard labour. After renewing the facts of the case and stressing the necessity of upholding the sacrednoss of human life by meting out adequate punishment, the judgment of the Court said:— 1 ‘ The Court in considering sentence must keep in mind its deterrent effect and therefore such a crime must be punished by a substantial term of imprisonment. It would be a dangerous innovation to treat such a crime as this lightly. “But seeing that the jury’s verdict must necessarily have negatived the intention to kill or wound in such a way as to be likely to cause death, and taking into consideration the youth o? the prisoner, his previous good character and the state of. his mind when he committed the crime, we have come to the conclusion that the sentence imposed was unnecessarily severe and that the interests of justice will be served and the deterrent effect be sufficient if the sentence is reduced from 12 years to seven yeais with hard labour.”