R v Hood (Kenneth)
Court of Appeal
Citations: [2003] EWCA Crim 2772, [2004] 1 Cr App R (S) 73.
Facts
The defendant’s wife was injured in a fall. She suffered from osteoporosis and brittle bone disease. The defendant was his wife’s sole carer, but he failed to get her medical attention for several weeks. By this point, the wife’s condition had deteriorated and she died in hospital.
The defendant was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison. He appealed his sentence. He argued that his wife was capable of calling assistance herself, and had told him that she did not want to go to hospital. Since he was not completely responsible for her death, he argued that four years was an excessive sentence.
Issue(s)
- Was the defendant’s sentence excessive?
Decision
The Court of Appeal agreed that the defendant was not wholly responsible for his wife’s death and that four years was therefore excessive. The defendant was resentenced to 30 months in prison.
