Key Facts
- •Peter Laws (appellant) and Nadia Sunter assaulted John Finn on October 13, 2023.
- •Laws pleaded guilty to unlawfully wounding Finn (s.20 Offences Against the Person Act 1861) and perverting the course of justice.
- •Sunter pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice.
- •Finn suffered catastrophic injuries, including a brain injury, but the prosecution couldn't prove Laws caused all of them.
- •Laws admitted punching Finn twice.
- •Laws and Sunter dragged Finn's unconscious body into an alleyway to distance Laws from the assault.
- •Laws has 38 convictions for 122 offences, including violence.
- •Laws received a 10-month sentence for wounding and a consecutive 19-month sentence for perverting the course of justice.
- •Sunter received a suspended 10-month sentence for perverting the course of justice.
Legal Principles
Sentencing for offences under section 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and for perverting the course of justice.
Sentencing Guidelines
Assessment of harm in perverting the course of justice cases.
Sentencing Council guidelines for perverting the course of justice
Outcomes
Appeal partly allowed.
The 19-month sentence for perverting the course of justice was reduced to 12 months due to the court finding that the harm caused fell into category 2, not category 1, considering the lack of direct medical evidence linking the dragging to further neurological complications for Finn, and the limited impact on the administration of justice. The court considered the aggravating factors of Laws' previous convictions, his callousness, and the distress caused to Finn and his partner.