Key Facts
- •Daniel Berriman (appellant) pleaded guilty to seven offences in Doncaster Magistrates' Court and was sentenced in Sheffield Crown Court.
- •Offences included racially aggravated common assault, criminal damage, breaches of a restraining order, common assault, and harassment (racially aggravated and otherwise).
- •The offences stemmed from multiple incidents at Doncaster Royal Infirmary involving verbal and physical abuse, racist remarks, and damage to property.
- •The appellant had 52 previous convictions.
- •The Crown Court imposed a total sentence of 32 months' imprisonment.
Legal Principles
Sentencing guidelines for racially aggravated common assault, considering culpability and harm.
Sentencing guideline for racially aggravated common assault
Principle of totality in sentencing.
Common law
Uplift for racial aggravation in sentencing.
Sentencing guideline
Consecutive vs. concurrent sentences.
Common law
Considering the overall seriousness of multiple charges.
Common law
Outcomes
Appeal against sentence allowed in part.
The uplift for racial aggravation in charge 1 was reduced, and the consecutive sentence for common assault (charge 5) and the separate harassment charge were quashed. The total sentence was reduced from 32 months to 28 months.
Sentence for racially aggravated common assault (charge 1) reduced from 14 months to 12 months.
The uplift for racial aggravation was considered too high.
Sentence for harassment (charge 6) quashed.
The conviction for harassment was considered wrong in principle as it overlapped with racially aggravated harassment.
Consecutive sentence for common assault (charge 5) quashed.
The consecutive sentence was deemed disproportionate.