ABH Sentence?

[mark_mahon]

I posted a message on here the other day, regarding my friend’s conviction for ABH, and subsequent sentence. I thought I’d provide a few more details regarding the case:

- He was found guilty of ABH in Crown Court
- He has a previous caution
- Assault left cuts and bruises to victim

However:
- Assault was provoked
- Assault was not pre-meditated
- He has excellent character references- it is clear that the incident was isolated and out of character
- He has a good job and has always worked
- He has been on unconditional bail since the incident, and shows no signs of being involved in trouble again
- He is ashamed that he was involved in this incident. He says that the incident has taught him to remain calm and if he had the opportunity to go back in time, he would handle things very differently
- The victim was very drunk, has a history of violence and was the aggressor in the dispute

He is desperate to avoid jail, as this would ruin his working career. I believe that a suspended sentence, with a big fine would be the best punishment for him- as this would give him time to show that the incident was isolated and to punish him at the same time.

[boxtops]

Mark, you could have posted this as a new response to your earlier thread - saves us having to flip between the two to see the details.

[boxtops]

^I've put a link to this one on the other one, I hope this helps.

[Buenchico]

The sentencing guidelines for ABH are on page 17 of this document:
http://www.sentencing...person_accessible.pdf

The sentences stated there refer to a first-time offender convicted after a trial. Previous convictions can push the sentencing range higher. A guilty plea, at the earliest opportunity can see the sentence reduced. (For a custodial sentence that's by one third, but it's probably not relevant here anyway).

Based upon your description of things, a Community Order looks to be a near certainty.

Chris