R v Sharpley [2014] NSWDC 253

• Young male from rural Aboriginal community – parents separated when offender young due to domestic violence – continued exposure to father’s alcohol abuse and violence – learning difficulty and barely literate – little employment: at [26]-[31]
• Evidence of social-economic conditions of community provided by Aboriginal Legal Service field officer– referred also to findings of the Walgett Gamilaroi Working Community in 2005 – issues include: widespread violence and alcohol abuse – severe deprivation – racism and stereotyping – inequalities and lack of opportunity – lack of resources and living conditions – welfare mentality – difficulty accessing services – low levels of literacy and numeracy – low student retention and high truancy rates – high levels of criminal and anti-social activity – unemployment: at [22]-[23]
• Evidence of extreme deprivation, substance abuse and violence within community relevant and essential to understanding and assessing moral culpability of offender:

[25] The level of substance abuse and violence coupled with the lack of opportunity gives rise to a sense of hopelessness and disempowerment amongst some members of the local community that cannot be ignored when assessing the moral culpability in the individual’s case. This offender’s history of deprivation and exposure to alcohol abuse, violence and the lack of opportunity to thrive in such an environment is intrinsically connected to his current predicament. …

[40] The uncontested evidence before me is that the community from which the offender comes and in which he has been raised has experienced an appalling degree of deprivation over a long period of time. This offender is a product of that community and it is therefore necessary for me to assess his moral culpability, bearing in mind the particular socio-economic factors that exist in his community that have inevitably had an impact upon him. Failure to do so would be a failure to fulfil the principle of individualised justice. …

…

[49] Prolonged and widespread social disadvantage has produced a community so demoralised and alienated that many within it, like this offender, have succumbed to alcohol abuse, criminal misconduct and a sense of hopelessness. That background of disadvantage and of deprivation may impact upon the individual so deeply and so broadly that it serves to shed light on matters such as, for example, the offender’s recidivism.

…

[52] This offender has grown up with alcohol abuse being a normal part of his home life and also a devastating and entrenched problem in his peer group and his community. He committed these offences whilst affected by alcohol. The offender’s self-induced intoxication is not normally to be taken into account as a mitigating factor. However, the evidence before me demonstrates that he has experienced a deprived upbringing, including exposure to significant alcohol abuse and domestic violence resulting in a dysfunctional family environment and a significant degree of disadvantage. I am satisfied that his background of deprivation operates to reduce his moral culpability and thereby mitigate the sentence.