R v Joshua Kerr
[2023] EWCA Crim 212
R v Kyi-Riece Sylvester
7 December 2023
[2023] EWCA Crim 1546
Court of Appeal
A teenager was convicted of murder. He argued that the judge wrongly refused to let the jury hear anonymous rumours that the victim had a knife first. The court disagreed. He also argued that a new, harsher sentencing rule shouldn't apply to his case because it was made after the murder. The court said the rule only changed the starting point for sentencing, not the sentence itself, so it was fair to use it.
Key Facts
- •Kyi-Rieice Sylvester (appellant), aged 19, convicted of murder and multiple robberies.
- •Murder occurred on August 1st, 2021, when both victim and appellant were 16.
- •Appellant appealed conviction based on the judge's refusal to admit anonymous hearsay evidence suggesting the victim wielded a knife.
- •Appellant also applied for an extension of time to appeal his sentence (detention at Her Majesty's Pleasure with a 19-year minimum term).
- •The appeal against sentence concerned the application of paragraph 5A of Schedule 21 to the Sentencing Act 2020, a new sentencing regime not in place at the time of the murder.
Legal Principles
Admissibility of hearsay evidence in criminal proceedings under section 114 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.
Criminal Justice Act 2003
Consideration of factors in deciding whether to admit hearsay evidence under section 114(1)(d) and section 114(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, including probative value, reliability, and difficulty in challenging the statement.
Criminal Justice Act 2003
Impact of the inability to challenge the credibility of an anonymous hearsay witness (section 124 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003).
Criminal Justice Act 2003
Admissibility of anonymous hearsay evidence, considering the balance between probative value and the difficulties in assessing reliability.
R v Brown [2019] EWCA Crim 1143
Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights (no punishment without law, prohibition of retrospective application of harsher penalties).
European Convention on Human Rights
Common law principle of lex gravior (a more severe law cannot be applied retrospectively).
Common Law
Application of new sentencing guidelines, considering the date of implementation and avoiding lex gravior.
R v Docherty [2016] UKSC 62
Outcomes
Appeal against conviction dismissed.
The judge's refusal to admit anonymous hearsay evidence was not shown to be wrong; the prosecution could not fairly deal with this unreliable evidence, and the jury lacked a proper basis for weighing its reliability.
Application for extension of time to appeal sentence granted.
The delay was an oversight by legal advisors, not the appellant's fault.
Renewed application for leave to appeal against sentence refused.
The sentence (detention at Her Majesty's Pleasure) remained unchanged; paragraph 5A of Schedule 21 only affected starting points, not the maximum sentence; and applying the new starting point did not violate Article 7 of the ECHR.