REDUCTION OF SENTENCE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18879, 3 December 1935, Page 11

REDUCTION OF SENTENCE

REFORMATIVE DETENTION TWO YEARS TO SIX MONTHS COMMENT BY JUDGE (Per Press Association.s CHRISTCHXmCH, this day. Interesting observations on flic application of sentences of reformative, detention were made; by Mr Justice Northcroiu in a reserved' judgment dealing with an application for the review of a sentence imposed in Nelson by Mr T. H. Maunsell, S.M., on a prisoner who had been convicted of stealing money which ho had received on behalf of the Nelson relief worker's social committee.

In reducing the sentence imposed on Sidney George Hall from two years' reformative detention to six months' detention, His Honor slated that power to order detention in excess of the prescribed maximum periods of imprisonment should be employed only in exceptional circumstances, and where there was the strongest reason to anticipate beneficial results for the offender. In his judgment, the present case did not reveal those exceptional prospects of rehabilitation which alone would justify a sentence in excess of tin'' statutory maximum.

"In my opinion reformative detention should not be resorted to for the imposition of a longor term of imprisonment than the. prescribed maximum because the offence is a bad one, nor because the offender hits a bad record," said the judge. "In my judgment this present case does not reveal those exceptional prospects of rehabilitation, which alone would justify a sentence in excess of the statutory maximum. For these reasons I 'consider that an appropriate sentence should have been one of imprisonment with hard labor for sixmonths."

"Section five of the Crimes Act Amendment Act provides that every person sentenced by a magistrate to a period of reformative detention may apply, ex parte, to a judge of the Supreme Court to review that Sentence, and such judjgc may thereupon either uphold or reverse the sentence, or reduce the term. I entertain doubts as to whether this is authority for the setting aside of such a sentence of reformative detention and for • its replacement by a senten.ee of imprisonment with hard labor. In these circumstances I will make an order for the reduction of the sentence of two years' reformative detention to one of reformative detention for a period of six months-,''