00:00Jake Danby is currently serving a 12-month intensive community corrections order after
00:07pleading guilty to hit and run causing death over an incident in 2024 in which he hit two
00:14Aboriginal pedestrians with his vehicle, fled the scene and then later sent a series of text
00:19messages referring to the victims as dogs and as oxygen thieves. One of the victims,
00:25known as Mr Whitehurst for cultural reasons, died in hospital as a result of his injuries.
00:31The Director of Public Prosecutions filed an appeal on the single ground that the sentence was
00:36manifestly inadequate. Today, Prosecutor Patrick Williams told the court that the sentence really
00:41just didn't go far enough in the circumstances. In particular, he pointed to the text messages Danby
00:47sent in the aftermath of the incident saying they should have been considered aggravating factors
00:52and they were relevant because they went to Danby's state of mind at the time.
00:57Mr Williams also argued that the primary sentencing considerations should have been denunciation
01:02of Danby's offending as well as promoting community deterrence about this kind of offending in the
01:07future. On the other hand, Defence Barrister John Tippett KC told the court the sentence was
01:13appropriate and even went as far as to say the community should be applauding the court for
01:18sentencing a young person to an intensive community corrections order as opposed to an actual term
01:23of imprisonment. Mr Tippett said Danby was the perfect example of someone who would benefit
01:29from a community corrections order because of his age, his lack of criminal history as well as his
01:34strong prospects for rehabilitation. Mr Tippett argued a community corrections order wasn't a lighter
01:40or more lenient option it was just a different option and even took a swipe at the media saying
01:46that they had focused too much on certain aspects of the case which had led to a misunderstanding
01:51among the public about what an intensive community corrections order actually means. After about one
01:57and a half hours of submissions from both sides the NT Court of Criminal Appeal decided to reserve
02:03their decision for a later date and said they had not yet reached a decision on whether Danby should be
02:09resentenced.
Comments