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🇦🇺 Australia /Crime & Justice

No more discounted sentences for WA criminals due to overcrowded jails

From ABC Australia · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Western Australian judges have been instructed to stop giving criminals reduced sentences due to severe prison overcrowding.
  • A prisons watchdog previously described conditions in some WA jails as "cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment."
  • The Court of Appeal ruled that prison conditions should generally not be considered a mitigating factor in sentencing.

Judges in Western Australia have been directed to cease offering discounted sentences to criminals as a consequence of severe overcrowding and deteriorating conditions within the state's prisons. This directive comes after a critical report from WA's prisons watchdog earlier this year, which characterized the treatment of prisoners in three jails as "cruel, inhumane or degrading."

Some, but not all, sentencing judges do, at least on occasion, take the well-publicised conditions at Hakea into account at sentencing, or at least express some sympathy for offenders who have been enduring ongoing lock down conditions.

— WA Court of Appeal judgesDescribing the previous practice of considering prison conditions during sentencing.

Previously, some judges had factored in these dire prison conditions as a mitigating circumstance when imposing shorter sentences. An example cited involved Mihael Vrhovsek, who received a 16-year jail term for attempted murder, with the court acknowledging the "chronic shortage of space" and "significant and inhumane overcrowding" at Hakea Prison.

To the contrary, the weight of opinion is that such conditions cannot properly be taken into account.

— WA Court of Appeal judgesStating the new ruling on sentencing considerations.

However, a recent decision by WA's Court of Appeal has altered this practice. Three senior judges ruled that, in most cases, the conditions within prisons should not be taken into account during sentencing. The court clarified that this decision does not imply endorsement of the current prison conditions, stating that they "share the legitimate concern expressed by others as to the conditions in which prisoners are housed."

None of this is to suggest that this court does not share the legitimate concern expressed by others as to the conditions in which prisoners are housed in facilities which are overstretched and under-resourced.

— WA Court of Appeal judgesClarifying that the ruling does not dismiss concerns about prison conditions.

University of Western Australia law lecturer Jamie Walvisch noted that the ruling clarifies the situation moving forward, acknowledging a previous "grey area." While individual prisoners might still receive sentence reductions if overcrowding disproportionately affects them due to factors like age or mental health, the broader impact of appalling conditions on rehabilitation remains a significant concern. Walvisch argued that addressing crime effectively requires investment in prisoner services and programs rather than tolerating intolerable conditions.

This is more about clarifying the situation moving forwards … there's definitely been a bit of a grey area until now.

— Jamie WalvischCommenting on the Court of Appeal's decision.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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