A sentencing judge who finds that an offender intended to cause grievous bodily harm when the offender was convicted only of maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm (s 35) contravenes the De Simoni principle, as such intent is the distinguishing element of the more serious s 33 offence. A sentence assessment approaching the statutory maximum must be reserved for offences at or near the top of the range of objective seriousness, and a sentence of 5 years 9 months from a 7-year maximum was manifestly excessive for this offence. The increased maximum penalty for recklessly inflicting GBH (now 10 years under s 35(2)) should result in markedly increased penalties for glassing offences.
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