Community detention sentence for brain injury
Aug 05, 2010
from Anne Clarkson's article in Christchurch Court News:
A 19-year-old man who punched his victim in an “unprovoked, premeditated attack” causing serious brain injury, was sentenced to community detention in the Christchurch District Court today.
Stefan Ronald Vaiola’s defence counsel, Tony Garrett, said Vaiola had attended a restorative justice conference with his victim and his victim’s father. Vaiola found the conference a valued opportunity to personally see the man and say sorry.
There was ample evidence of his remorse, and letters of apology went to the victim, he said.
There was one serious punch with very serious consequences, but the victim was making good progress.
He said he was impressed with Vaiola’s attitude. He was polite, and conscious of what he had done.
He co-operated fully with the police, and was respected by the people who had come to court with him as support.
Judge Philip Moran asked if anyone of his family would like to address him and an aunt said she was at the restorative justice meeting which had gone well. She said Vaiola was not a bad person, and he was prepared to turn his life around.
Judge Moran said it was a serious, unprovoked, premeditated attack causing serious injury to the victim’s head, leaving him with no memory of what had happened to him.
....He sentenced Vaiola to four months’ community detention, reinforced with supervision for six months on the charge of causing injury in circumstances where if death had occurred he would have been guilty of manslaughter.
He set a curfew of 7pm to 7am and said he was to attend anger management programmes, and alcohol and drug programmes if required by his probation officer
