Terri Nolan
Background
living with mother and little sister at a countryside just outside Melbourne
she left school in year 11
she works as a waitress
Case study
Age
19 years old
Court
County
Offence
trafficking in a drug offence
Maximum penalty
15 years
Why?
family stressed about money
she listened to her mother
raise money for Terri's hockey trip
she was lured by the prospect of easy money
Mitigating factors
no prior convictions
cooperative with police from moment of arrest
genuine remorse
highly unlikely to reoffend
holds no threat to the community
aggravating factors
Terri’s mother could not have been that naive enough to think that what she was doing was ok. She manipulated her own daughter into committing a crime .
Her and her mother drove around pharmacies to buy pills and scam people
Recommendations
non-custodial sentence would be considered appropriate
rehabilitation
complete unpaid community work
youth therapeutic order
potential for the age limit to be raised
What could have prevented the crime happening?
psychological support
financial support
Actus rea
trafficking in a drug of dependence
Mens rea
remorse for what she had done
she was not completely aware of commiting a crime
manipulated by her mother
by sending Terri to jail it would cost the government 317 perday just to keep her there
Social factors to consider
family financial problems
is her family going to be affected by this
threat for the community?
wanted to go on a hocky trip
Similar cases
a non-custodial sentence would be appropriate
more than 1/2 of the prior similar cases did not receive a period of imprisonment
Missing information
no info about Terri's father
no info about relatives
no info about the man who gave the pills to Terri's mother in the first place
Sentence
community correction order for 12 months
in Victoria youth is a major factor in sentencing
young offenders are immature and may not understand the consequences of their actions
courts have stressed the greater importance of rehabilitation compared to general deterrence when it comes to youthful offenders
Terms and conditions for Terri's sentence
supervision
community work after school
hockey team/other sports
Programs that could help Terri
The Ropes program
P.A.R.T.Y. program
Right Step
Youth off the streets
What is the best sentencing option to reduce re-offending in cases like this?
community correction order
specific programs
Psychological theories
Strain Theory (Merton,1938)
lured by the prospect of easy money
Attachment Theory (Bowlby 1969)
snowball effect (Daniel,Ellen & Burnett, 2011)
Statistics
47% of the prisoners have no formal qualifications
14% completed year 12