SENTENCING STATEMENTS

On sentencing, Lord Cubie said:

"This case represents another example of the folly and danger of carrying knives – two lives permanently affected by your decision to arm yourself with a knife.

You have pled guilty to stabbing the complainer three times in response to an altercation and a very minor remark which you chose to see as an insult. You stabbed him once and then when confronted about what you had done, stabbed him twice more; it is a matter of luck and nothing else that the consequences were not more severe. He required emergency surgery to remove his spleen, a procedure which has lifelong consequences. The carrying of knives is a scourge and the apparently casual manner in which you explain why you had a weapon – that everyone does it - is depressing and worrying.

This was a serious offence rightly prosecuted in the High Court of Justiciary; you were armed, responded disproportionately to what you took to be an insult and inflicted three stab wounds over the course of two episodes of this ongoing incident.

I have read the report carefully and listened to the mitigation on your behalf. I also take into account the bail supervision report and the Bright Light report produced at the last hearing. In mitigation, there is a limited record and plainly considerable upheaval in your life at the time, when parental influence was disrupted and uneven. Your relationship with your father was described as challenging and conflictual. Your father’s actions in challenging the diagnosis of ADHD seems to have undermined proper treatment at a time when it was most required. You have responded well to the support and structure which you have had, and to the change in where you live, and appear to have a very constructive role to play in the future. Prospects for rehabilitation are good.

The exercise of sentencing a young person is different from that of sentencing an older person, in particular because a young person will generally have a lower level of maturity, and a greater capacity for change and rehabilitation, than an older person.

This means I have to have regard to your maturity at the time the offence was committed. Young people are generally less able to exercise good judgement when making decisions; there is in your case no element where you were subjected to peer pressure or some kind of exploitative relationship, but I do recognise that in carrying out this attack, you thought less clearly about what could happen as a result of your actions, including the impact on any victim and others affected by those actions; and you took more risks, including of course carrying a knife in the first place.

As a consequence, I recognise that your culpability is lower than that of an older person who is to be sentenced for the same, or a similar, offence.

The purposes of a sentence include protection of the public; punishment; rehabilitation of offenders; giving the offender the opportunity to make amends; and expressing disapproval of offending behaviour.

In this case the nature and extent of the behaviour, the use of a weapon and the injury inflicted means that the custody threshold has been passed; that means that the considerations about rehabilitation affect the length of sentence only. Culpability is high; harm is high; the purposes of punishment and condemnation outweigh other sentencing purposes. I must impose a sentence of detention.

But in sentencing I also recognise that the guidelines provide that if a custodial sentence is imposed on a young person, it should be shorter than that which would have been imposed on an older person for the same, or a similar, offence in order that rehabilitation and integration can begin at an earlier date, and these are taken into account in the sentence imposed. As I have said, the report reflects optimism about your ability to be rehabilitated and progress already made.

I recognise that this was a spontaneous reaction to some unforeseen challenge to you. But the carrying of a knife elevated the seriousness of this because you had it with you and chose to use it not once or twice but three times

The courts have made it clear that a very serious view is taken of offences of violence involving knives; the court should be acting, and be seen to be acting, in a way which discourages the carrying of sharp weapons, the use of which may lead to serious injury and even needless deaths. Sentences which may cause individuals to think more carefully before arming themselves and which reflect public concern at such incidents are appropriate.

Had you been found guilty after trial and having regard to your age, the guidelines, and the positive aspects of the report, I would have restricted the sentence imposed to one of five years and four months. Because you have plead guilty I will modify that sentence to one of four years. I do not consider that the test for post release supervision is made out; the risk which you pose can, I conclude, be managed by the licence conditions upon release.

I also require to factor in the electronic bail and determine the relevant period; I calculate that you have been subject to a qualifying bail order in terms of s for a period of 375 days; in terms of Section 210ZA of the 1995 Act, the relevant period is one half of that - which is 188 days.

The sentence of the court is that you will be detained for a period of four years from today; I specify the relevant period for the purposes of section 210ZA of the Act as being 188 days and direct that you be treated as having served that part of the sentence amounting to 188 days. That is the sentence of the court."