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Supreme Court 20 May 2021

R v Eckersley

[2021] NSWSC 562

Homicide
CRIME SENTENCING VERDICT OF MANSLAUGHTER FOLLOWING TRIAL FOUND OFFENDER INTENDED TO KILL OFFENDER SUBSTANTIALLY IMPAIRED MENTALLY ILL OFFENDER

Citation: R v Eckersley [2021] NSWSC 562
Court: Supreme Court of New South Wales
Date: 20 May 2021
Judge: Beech-Jones J

Background

The offender, a woman in her late sixties with a PhD in reproductive physiology and an otherwise unblemished record, was convicted of manslaughter following a jury trial. The charge arose from the death of her 92-year-old mother, a resident of an aged care facility in Bundanoon, who had suffered progressive vascular dementia, a major stroke, and severe physical decline.

On 5 August 2018, the offender administered pentobarbitone (a barbiturate she had obtained during volunteer wildlife work decades earlier) by mixing it into her mother's soup and spoon-feeding it to her. The mother died as a result. The offender had originally been charged with murder.

The jury acquitted the offender of murder but returned a verdict of guilty to manslaughter. Beech-Jones J noted that the verdict was consistent with either manslaughter by an unlawful and dangerous act or manslaughter by substantial impairment. For sentencing purposes, the court found that the offender had intended to kill her mother, but that she had done so while suffering from a severe depressive disorder that substantially impaired her capacity to understand events and to know right from wrong.

  • Whether the jury verdict of manslaughter was consistent with an intent to kill, and if so, what factual findings could be made for sentencing purposes
  • Whether the offender's severe depressive disorder at the time of the offence constituted substantial impairment under the relevant provisions of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)
  • Whether the threshold requirement under s 5(1) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) was satisfied, meaning whether a sentence of full-time imprisonment was warranted, or whether a Community Correction Order was appropriate
  • What weight to give to the objective seriousness of the offence, the offender's mental illness, her lack of prior criminal history, and her prospects for rehabilitation

Decision

Beech-Jones J found that the offender intended to kill her mother, driven by a desire to end what she perceived as prolonged suffering. The court accepted that this intention was formed and carried out while the offender was suffering from a severe depressive disorder, which substantially impaired her capacity to understand events and distinguish right from wrong. The Crown Prosecutor described the conduct as an act of love; the offender described it as an act of despair. Both characterisations, the court accepted, reflected genuine distress arising from years of witnessing her mother's deterioration.

The court acknowledged the inherent seriousness of the offence. Killing a vulnerable, elderly, and cognitively impaired person in a nursing home is, the court stated, necessarily a serious crime. However, the objective gravity of the offending was substantially tempered by the offender's mental state at the time, her otherwise impeccable character, the absence of any risk of reoffending, and the context in which the act occurred.

On the question of sentencing options, the court observed that the legislative framework under the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 permitted only two outcomes in the circumstances: a Community Correction Order or full-time imprisonment. Beech-Jones J noted with evident discomfort that this binary did not easily accommodate a case with such complex and mitigating features, remarking that the factual context "cries out for flexibility in terms of sentencing options."

Applying the threshold test in s 5(1), the court concluded that full-time imprisonment was not warranted. The offender's severe mental impairment, low risk of reoffending, strong support network, and the circumstances of the offending collectively supported the imposition of a Community Correction Order. A treatment condition was imposed, requiring the offender to continue receiving mental health treatment.

Orders Made

  • The offender was convicted of manslaughter.
  • Placed on a Community Correction Order for a period of two years commencing 20 May 2021, pursuant to s 8(1) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW).
  • Standard conditions applied for the duration of the order: no further offences; attendance before the court if called upon.
  • An additional treatment condition was imposed requiring the offender to receive treatment for her mental health problems, as outlined in the report of Ms Emily Kwok dated 8 February 2021.
  • The offender was directed not to leave the Court precinct before signing the Order at the Registry, and to notify the Supreme Court Registry of any change of address during the order period.

Key Takeaways

  • A manslaughter verdict does not preclude a sentencing court from finding, beyond reasonable doubt, that the offender intended to kill the deceased. The Supreme Court made that finding here while still treating substantial mental impairment as a significant mitigating factor.
  • Under s 5(1) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999, full-time imprisonment must not be imposed unless a court is satisfied no other sentence is appropriate. This threshold can be satisfied in manslaughter cases where severe mental illness substantially diminishes moral culpability.
  • Substantial impairment by mental illness, even where it does not reduce murder to manslaughter at the verdict stage, carries considerable weight in sentencing: it bears directly on the offender's culpability, the purposes of punishment, and the proportionality of any custodial term.
  • The objective seriousness of an offence involving the killing of a vulnerable person does not automatically mandate imprisonment. The court weighed objective gravity against the totality of mitigating circumstances, including mental illness, character, absence of criminal history, and the relational context of the act.
  • Beech-Jones J explicitly noted that the available sentencing options under the current legislative framework lacked the flexibility appropriate to the circumstances, a comment directed at the structure of the regime rather than any finding of law.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation:
- Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), ss 18, 23A, 24
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), ss 5, 8, 54A, 88, 89
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Sentencing Options) Act 2017 (NSW)
- Crimes (High Risk Offenders) Act 2006 (NSW)

Cases:
- R v Olbrich (1999) 199 CLR 270; [1999] HCA 54
- Muldrock v The Queen (2011) 244 CLR 120; [2011] HCA 39
- Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) v De La Rosa (2010) 79 NSWLR 1; [2010] NSWCCA 194
- Justins v Regina [2010] NSWCCA 242
- R v Shirley Justins [2011] NSWSC 568
- Barbieri v R [2016] NSWCCA 295
- Le v Regina [2019] NSWCCA 181
- R v Blacklidge (CCA NSW, Gleeson CJ, 12 December 1995, unrep)
- R v Israil [2002] NSWCCA 255
- R v MB [2017] NSWSC 619
- R v Blake Davis [2021] NSWSC 235
- R v Dowdle [2018] NSWSC 240
- R v Quinn (No 2) [2016] NSWSC 1244
- R v Mathers [2011] NSWSC 339
- R v Sutton [2007] NSWSC 295
- R v Jans [2000] NSWSC 525