Citation: R v Mathers [2011] NSWSC 339
Court: Supreme Court of New South Wales
Date: 28 April 2011
Judge(s): Hall J
Background
The offender, a 66-year-old man, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his partner of 22 years, a 78-year-old woman who had been suffering from a severe and degenerating spinal condition (osteoporosis, arthritis, and sciatica). She had been hospitalised twice in June 2009 with extreme pain and had expressed a clear intention to end her life rather than enter a nursing home. She left a handwritten suicide note to that effect.
On 5 July 2009, the deceased took a large number of amitriptyline tablets (an antidepressant also used for pain relief) and drank wine, falling into a deep sleep. The following day, while she was calling out in pain, the offender gave her a further 13 tablets. On the morning of 7 July 2009, finding her still breathing, he suffocated her using a pillow, towel, and plastic bag. The offender then called ambulance services and, shortly after police arrived, voluntarily disclosed his role to them in a recorded interview. His admissions formed the basis of the original murder charge.
The plea of guilty to manslaughter was accepted in full satisfaction of the murder charge. The basis for the manslaughter finding was substantial impairment under section 23A of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), supported by medical evidence that the offender suffered a depressive illness and adjustment disorder arising from an underlying condition.
Legal Issues
- What was the appropriate sentence for manslaughter on the basis of substantial impairment, having regard to the highly unusual circumstances of the offending?
- Where did the offender's culpability sit within the range of sentences for manslaughter?
- Whether a fully suspended sentence was appropriate given the offender's subjective circumstances, age, mental health, and cooperation with police.
Decision
Hall J assessed the offender's culpability as falling towards the lower end of the range for manslaughter. Several factors supported that assessment. The offender's sole motive was to assist his partner carry out her clearly expressed wish to die. There was no lengthy premeditation or planning in any conventional sense, and the relationship had been loving and enduring for over two decades. The deceased had taken her own steps to end her life; the offender's involvement accelerated a death that medical evidence suggested was likely in any event given the drug levels already present.
The court accepted medical evidence that the offender suffered from a depressive illness and adjustment disorder, satisfying the requirements of section 23A of the Crimes Act 1900. This substantially impaired his capacity to understand events, judge whether his actions were right or wrong, or control himself, and directly reduced his moral culpability for the killing.
Significant leniency was extended for the offender's disclosures to police, his full and frank admissions in interview, and his guilty plea. Hall J noted that the offender's participation would not have been discovered at all without those disclosures. The court also took into account the offender's age, the 20 days already spent in custody, and the tragic circumstances as a whole.
Hall J concluded that while a term of imprisonment was appropriate, full-time custody was not warranted. A 2-year term of imprisonment, fully suspended on conditions including a good behaviour bond, properly reflected all relevant sentencing considerations.
Orders Made
- The offender was sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 2 years, backdated to commence 8 April 2011 and expire 7 April 2013.
- Execution of the sentence was fully suspended from 28 April 2011.
- The offender was released on condition of entering into a good behaviour bond for the operative remaining period of the sentence.
- Bond conditions: appear before the court if called upon; be of good behaviour; notify the Registrar of any change of residential address.
Key Takeaways
- Manslaughter by substantial impairment under section 23A of the Crimes Act 1900 requires medical evidence of an underlying condition that substantially impairs the offender's capacity to understand, judge, or control their actions; the Supreme Court was satisfied that threshold was met here.
- Where an offender's participation in a serious offence would never have come to light without their own voluntary disclosures to police, those disclosures are a significant mitigating factor that attracts meaningful leniency at sentencing.
- A fully suspended sentence remains available for manslaughter in exceptional circumstances, provided the term of imprisonment does not exceed 2 years under section 12 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999.
- The offender's sole motive being to relieve the suffering of a consenting partner who had expressed a clear and documented wish to die placed his culpability at the lowest end of the manslaughter range, though culpability was not extinguished.
- In determining objective seriousness, the court considered the extent to which the offender's act accelerated a death that the medical evidence indicated was already likely, given the toxic levels of amitriptyline already present in the deceased's system.
Legislation and Cases Referenced
Legislation
- Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), ss 18(1)(b), 23A
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), ss 12, 35A
Cases
- AB v R (1999) 198 CLR 111
- Douar v R (2005) 159 A Crim R 154
- R v Assaad [2009] NSWCCA 182
- R v Blacklidge (NSWCCA, unreported, 12 December 1995)
- R v Byrne [1960] 2 QB 396
- R v Dally (2000) 115 A Crim R 582
- R v Ellis (1986) NSWLR 603
- R v Hill (1981) 3 A Crim R 397
- R v Zamagias [2002] NSWCCA 17
- Ryan v R (2001) 206 CLR 267