R v Stefan Barrington Braithwaite
[2024] EWCA Crim 1193
R v Mario Salvato
21 March 2023
[2023] EWCA Crim 391
Court of Appeal
A man was given a suspended prison sentence for stealing. The court decided that sentence was too long because he'd already spent a lot of time in jail waiting for the trial, so they let him go free. It was like he was being punished twice.
Key Facts
- •Appeal against a suspended sentence of 40 weeks' imprisonment for five theft offences.
- •Appellant, Mario Salvato (42), pleaded guilty to thefts of cosmetics and a tablet computer.
- •Total value of stolen goods: £740.
- •Appellant had 30 previous convictions for 53 offences, including 22 theft-related offences.
- •Appellant was on a community order at the time of the offences.
- •Spent 92 days (13 weeks) in remand custody.
- •Pre-sentence report recommended an 18-month community order with rehabilitation and monitoring.
- •Sentencing judge imposed a 40-week suspended sentence with various requirements, including exclusion from Westminster and trail monitoring.
- •Trail monitoring duration initially set at two years, then reduced to six months.
Legal Principles
Totality principle in sentencing: The overall sentence should be no more than just and proportionate to the offending as a whole.
Sentencing Council guideline
Sentencing for multiple similar offences: It is better practice to sentence on the lead offence, reflecting overall criminality with concurrent sentences on others.
Court's reasoning
Avoidance of double punishment: A suspended sentence should not effectively result in double punishment by adding to time already served on remand.
R v Maughan [2011] EWCA Crim 787
Outcomes
Appeal allowed.
The original sentence was manifestly excessive and failed to properly consider totality. The suspended sentence was flawed as it would have amounted to double punishment given the time served on remand.
Suspended sentence quashed.
The 40-week suspended sentence was replaced with a 26-week immediate sentence, treated as time served.
All requirements of the suspended sentence order (rehabilitation, exclusion, monitoring) ceased to have effect.
Consequence of quashing the suspended sentence.