“Our first act in government was to deliver stronger youth justice laws and under the Crisafulli government’s ‘adult crime, adult time laws’, this murderer would have been sentenced to life in prison,” Frecklington said.
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Justice Tom Sullivan in May 2024 sentenced the teen, then aged 19, to a maximum of 14 years with a requirement to serve 70 per cent of that time in detention, after he found the crime to be “particularly heinous”.
But the Court of Appeal last month allowed the teen’s appeal against the length of his sentence, finding it was “manifestly excessive”.
Justice David Boddice found the 14-year sentence should stand but reduced the detention period to 60 per cent.
He cited the teen’s guilty plea, “genuine remorse and prospects of rehabilitation” as special circumstances justifying his release from detention after serving less than the statutory 70 per cent.
The High Court challenge follows a pattern of appeals from Frecklington who has sought to push the government’s tough on crime agenda through the justice system.
With AAP
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