Nessa Lynch “Case Note: The Sentencing Of The Vulnerable: P v R” [2016] NZCLR 103

Abstract

I. INTRODUCTION New Zealand has a lauded youth jurisdiction, which has recognised expertise in accountability and reintegration for children and young persons who offend, both in minor and more serious cases.¹ In recent years, youth justice practitioners and professionals have become more cognisant of the relevance of the science of brain development both in terms of age appropriateness, and where children and young persons have neuro-disabilities (such as foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, traumatic brain injury or learning difficulties).² Nonetheless, New Zealand law holds that where a child or young person is accused of homicide, he or she will be tried, and sentenced, in the adult jurisdiction with the adult sentencing regime.³ Such cases inevitably involve the juxtaposition of serious crime with extreme vulnerability.