section 18

[mistyjesse]

i just wonder what is section 18 entail.
The story is my friend was in a on and off relationship with this man. He was quite a abusive man, and on many time the police had to be called to her house but all the time he'd left before they came. He also assult me on on of his rages, the police was called and i was going to press charges but i didn't want to put my friend in another situtation, so i didn.t bother. ( will these be on record), anyway the other nite my friend was out at her local and left with a friend a man , they was having a cup of tea in the kitchen when the on/off boyfriend walked in (he had a key what my friend has been trying to get back) after a few cross words he went upstairs and got one of the childrens baseball bat out of a waredrobe and came downstair and hit the man with it at least three times over the head. after a struggle he left leaving the baseball bat in some bushies.The kitchen was covered in blood. The friend went to hospital, police courdern the house off. The friend has broken jaw, broken nose, and a shatter eye socket whats has to be rebuilt. The police was looking for him but we knew is every move and told the police the where abouts but they was off duty, in the end the finially arrest him 2 day later and yes he was drunk so they waited until the next day to charge him with a section 18 but they bailed him to his dad house for they didn't have the doctor report, but they put bail conditions on him not to get in touch etc. hes been bailed for 2 weeks, but he still has my friends keys, i know they say if he's spotted in the area he locked up striaght away but what if no one reports seeing him, my friends scared. anyway my question is what will happen next,so i can help me friend, prepare for whats next. they mentioned crown court, and any guesses what he's punishment will be

[Buenchico]

(2-part post):

'Section 18' is defined on the Crown Prosecution Service website:
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/section5/chapter_c .html#11
It's only one step below 'attempted murder' in the scale of assault charges but the maximum penalty is the same. (i.e. life imprisonment). The offence is 'indictable only' so, after an initial appearance before the magistrates' court, the case will automatically be referred to the Crown Court.

The whole court process is likely to take many months. The actual time scale varies across the country but it's likely to be at least 6 months before the offender is sentenced. However, the magistrates will review the bail conditions when the case passes through their court and the Crown court will reconsider bail when the case first arrives before them. (There will be several Crown court procedural hearings before a trial - if the offender pleads 'not guilty' - or a sentencing hearing). If either court has any concerns about the safety of the victim, or others, the offender may be remanded into custody.

[Buenchico]

A typical sentence for a Section 18 offence would be around 4 years imprisonment. However, given the extent of the injuries suffered by the victim in this case, a sentence of 6 or 7 years might be more likely (particularly if the offender has a history of convictions for violence). In practice, only half of the nominal sentence period is actually spent in prison.

If the offender has appeared before the courts before, in relation to violent offences, it's also possible that he might be given an 'IPP' sentence. ("In the Interests of Public Protection"). It's basically the same as a life sentence, where the judge states a minimum period before the offender can be considered for release. (In this case, such a period might be 4 or 5 years). However, the offender won't be released unless he's proved that it's safe to do so. (Some offenders might spend much longer in prison than the period stated in their initial 'tariff').

Chris