Prison rioter sentenced to another year of imprisonment
1. When determining an appropriate sentence to be imposed on an offender, a court must take into account the impact of the offence of any victim of the offence, as well as the personal circumstances of any victim of the offence. A court will typically learn about the impact and personal circumstances of any victim of the offence through victim impact statements.
2. Potential mitigating factors that the Statements might give evidence of include
- previous good character of the offender
- remorse shown by the offender for the crime.
Potential aggravating factors that the Statements might give evidence of include:
- commission of the crime as part of a group against an outnumbered victim
- use of a weapon
- particular cruelty in the crime.
3. According to the Victim Impact Statement made by prison officers at the Melbourne Remand Centre, the riot had a major impact on staff. Several reported difficulties in both their professional and personal lives since the riot. Some experienced flash backs, which disturbed their sleep. The stress affected their satisfaction at work, and also affected their home life and relationships with their families. Some sustained physical injuries (although Luca may not have been responsible for inflicting any of these injuries directly). Luca’s crime affected the way that the prison officers now interact with the prisoners on a day-to-day basis.