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Anand Beharrylal secures reduction in prison sentence for appellant with mental age of 11

Anand Beharrylal successfully argued before the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) that a custodial sentence of 14 months for attempted robbery, imposed at the Crown Court at Cambridge, was manifestly excessive. The appellant (‘NB') was sentenced for attempted robbery of a pregnant women where violence was used causing non-permanent physical injury and also causing her toddler (who was with her) to run off in fright.

NB, who was aged 20 at the time, was persuaded to commit the offence by two teenagers who were over five years younger than him. Unusually, he subsequently went round to the victim's house a few hours after the offence to admit and apologise for the assault. The police who were with the victim at the time street bailed NB to the police station for an interview at a later date. NB duly attended the police station unrepresented and went on to make a full confession in interview, which provided the essential evidence for the charge of attempted robbery. The police had initially believed the case to be a straightforward one of assault and had NB said nothing there would have been no evidence of the robbery element of the offence. NB also pleaded guilty at the Crown Court.

Despite a Psychologist's Report identifying the low intelligence of NB and highlighting abnormal suggestibility, and a Pre-Sentence Report recommending a non-custodial disposal with a structured element of intervention to address the psychological deficits of NB and the cause of his offending, a sentence of immediate custody for 14 months was imposed.

On 26th April 2010, permission to appeal having been granted, the Court of Appeal reviewed the sentence. The Court had particular regard to the then known mental age of NB assessed at approximately 11 years of age in a supplementary Psychologist's report and reduced the sentence by almost half to 8 months.

Media Reports

• Cambridge News, 28 April 2010
• Cambridge News, 14 February 2010

11 May 2010

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