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Supreme Court 7 May 2021

R v Hannah Quinn (No 1)

[2021] NSWSC 493

HomicidePublic order & justice offences
SENTENCING REMARKS ON SENTENCE DEFENCE STRONG SUBJECTIVE CASE COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS ORDER IMPOSED

Citation: R v Hannah Quinn (No 1) [2021] NSWSC 493
Court: Supreme Court of New South Wales
Date: 7 May 2021
Judge: N Adams J

Background

In August 2018, the offender and her boyfriend were the victims of a violent home invasion at his Glebe terrace house. The deceased had arrived armed with a balaclava, an imitation pistol, knuckledusters, pepper spray, and cable ties, with the intention of robbing the couple. During the invasion, the boyfriend struck the deceased with a samurai sword. The jury later found that the killing amounted to manslaughter by excessive self-defence.

Rather than remaining at the scene, the offender fled with her boyfriend and spent approximately three days checking them both into and out of various Sydney hotels before they both surrendered to police on 13 August 2018. Both were charged with murder.

At trial, a directed verdict of not guilty on the murder charge was entered in the offender's favour. The jury ultimately acquitted the boyfriend of murder but convicted him of manslaughter, and convicted the offender of being an accessory after the fact to that manslaughter. The sentencing remarks deal solely with the offender's role in helping her boyfriend evade police during those three days.

  • What facts should be established for sentencing purposes, given that no agreed facts were available following a contested trial?
  • What was the appropriate characterisation of the objective seriousness of the offending, in circumstances where the offender had herself been a victim of the underlying violent crime?
  • How should the offender's strong subjective case bear on the sentence, including her personal history, mental health, lack of prior criminal record, and the traumatic circumstances surrounding the offence?
  • Whether a non-custodial sentence, specifically a Community Corrections Order, was appropriate given all the relevant factors.

Decision

Adams J identified the elements of the accessory offence: the offender must have intentionally assisted the principal offender after the killing, with knowledge of all the essential facts establishing manslaughter, and with the purpose of helping him escape arrest. The court accepted the offender's ERISP account of the home invasion as credible and consistent with the physical evidence, and found that her assistance to the boyfriend over the three days following the killing constituted the relevant acts.

The court assessed the objective seriousness of the offending as relatively low. Central to that assessment was the context in which the offending arose: the offender had just been a direct victim of a terrifying armed home invasion. She had no prior criminal history and no history of violence. Her flight with the boyfriend was not pre-planned criminality but a reaction to extraordinary and traumatic circumstances.

The subjective case was described as strong. The court considered evidence of the offender's personal background, her youth at the time of the offence (aged 25), significant mental health impacts arising from the events, her cooperation with police, and her remorse. Adams J noted that the purposes of sentencing, including general deterrence and denunciation, had to be balanced against the unusual and compelling circumstances of the case.

Weighing all factors, the court concluded that a Community Corrections Order was the appropriate sentence. Imprisonment, whether full-time or suspended, was not warranted on the facts. The maximum penalty for the offence is five years imprisonment under the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), but the court found this case sat well below the range that would require a custodial response.

Orders Made

  • The offender is convicted of being an accessory after the fact to manslaughter.
  • A Community Corrections Order is imposed for a period of two years, commencing 7 May 2021, under section 8(1) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW).
  • Standard conditions apply: the offender must not commit any offence and must appear before the court if called upon during the order's term.
  • An additional treatment condition is imposed, requiring the offender to receive treatment for her mental health problems as outlined in the report of Mr Watson-Munro dated 24 February 2021.
  • The offender is directed to contact Penrith Community Corrections by telephone or email no later than midday on 10 May 2021.
  • The offender is directed to notify the Supreme Court Registry of any change of address during the order period.

Key Takeaways

  • The Supreme Court confirmed that, following a contested trial, the sentencing judge must independently determine the facts for sentencing purposes, applying the standard of beyond reasonable doubt for facts adverse to the offender and the balance of probabilities for facts in the offender's favour.
  • Being a direct victim of the very crime that gave rise to the principal offence is a significant contextual factor capable of reducing the objective seriousness of accessory conduct that followed immediately from that traumatic experience.
  • A conviction for being an accessory after the fact to manslaughter carries a maximum of five years imprisonment under ss 24 and 350 of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), with no standard non-parole period prescribed.
  • Where the offender presents a compelling subjective case, including absence of prior criminal history, genuine remorse, mental health impacts, and highly unusual circumstances surrounding the offence, a Community Corrections Order may represent a proportionate sentencing outcome even in the Supreme Court.
  • In imposing sentence, the court must make a value judgment across all relevant factors under the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), and is not required to give any single sentencing purpose determinative weight.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation:
- Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), ss 24, 350
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), ss 3A, 5, 8, 21A

Cases:
- Ferris v R [2020] NSWCCA 325
- Filippou v The Queen (2015) 256 CLR 47; [2015] HCA 29
- Markarian v The Queen (2005) 228 CLR 357; [2005] HCA 25
- Muldrock v The Queen (2011) 244 CLR 120; [2011] HCA 39
- R v Aljubouri; R v YA; R v Shaker [2019] NSWSC 180
- R v Blake Davis [2021] NSWSC 235
- R v Davis and Quinn (No 4) [2020] NSWSC 1800
- R v Engert (1995) 84 A Crim R 67
- R v Hemsley [2004] NSWCCA 228
- R v Isaacs (1997) 41 NSWLR 374
- R v Israil [2002] NSWCCA 255
- R v Wran [2016] NSWSC 1015
- The Queen v Olbrich (1999) 199 CLR 270; [1999] HCA 54
- TT v R [2014] NSWCCA 206