A sentence of 12 years' imprisonment for manslaughter by unlawful and dangerous act (death by fire) was reduced to 10 years and 6 months where the offender had no prior convictions, pleaded guilty during the COVID-19 pandemic, had good rehabilitation prospects, and was separated from young children. The case reinforces that guilty pleas during the pandemic must receive a perceptible and more pronounced amelioration of sentence, and that characterisations of death by fire as 'cruel' from murder cases should not be uncritically applied to manslaughter.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 24 later cases that cite this judgment.
2 of the 24 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.