A man who argued that three-and-a-half years’ jail for his role in a fatal crash at Melton was manifestly excessive has had his application to appeal refused.
David Smith was killed when his car collided with a car driven by James Carroll at the intersection of Coburns and Barries roads in October, 2014.
During a sentencing hearing in December, the court heard Carroll was travelling 27 km/h above the speed limit at the time of the collision in an attempt to get away from another driver he had been seen arguing with moments prior.
In sentencing Carroll, Judge Christopher Ryan said while he accepted Carroll’s fear was “based in fact”, the actual threat he had received “was not the kind he perceived”.
Carroll applied to the Supreme Court to appeal his sentence, arguing it was “manifestly excessive” given the mitigating circumstances.
In his application, Carroll said Judge Ryan “erred in his assessment of the objective gravity … failed to give sufficient weight to [Carroll’s] reduced moral culpability … erred in his assessment of his prospects of rehabilitation, and placed too much weight on his history of drug abuse and criminal record”.
Supreme Court Judge Joseph Santamaria dismissed the application, saying describing a sentence as manifestly excessive was a “stringent ground which is difficult to make good”.
He said the sentencing judge took into account Carroll’s fear, the circumstances of the offending, and merely gave a “straightforward” account of Carroll’s drug and alcohol use.
Carroll will be eligible for parole in two years.
