The one-punch killer of Brisbane teenager Cole Miller will have his jail term increased by two-and-a-half years after his original seven-year sentence was deemed "manifestly inadequate".
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Appeal court judges have accepted Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath's argument that Armstrong Renata's sentence for the offence of unlawful striking causing death should have been treated more harshly than manslaughter cases.
Mr Miller, 18, was struck from behind by Renata while on a night out in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley nightclub district in 2016.
The promising water polo player suffered a massive brain trauma and his family made the heartbreaking decision to turn off his life support two days later.
Prosecutor Carl Heaton QC, for Ms D'Ath, argued in the appeal court in September that Renata should have been handed a 12-year jail term.
The sentencing judge had erred by using manslaughter cases which lacked similarities to Mr Miller's death as a guide in setting Renata's sentence, Mr Heaton said.
In the unanimous judgment of the Court of Appeal on Tuesday, Justice Robert Gotterson said 11 to 12 years' imprisonment was an appropriate starting point for "the reprehensible offending in this case".
"(Renata) delivered a very forceful blow to the deceased's jaw with a clenched fist," Justice Gotterson said in his appeal decision.
"The blow was entirely unprovoked. The deceased had his arms by his side. He had said nothing to the respondent or his associates,
"Moreover, the blow was delivered from out of the deceased's sight. The deceased had no opportunity to defend himself.
"It is no understatement to say that this is a chilling example of the cowardly, vicious conduct that (one-punch legislation) was intended to address."
The offence of "unlawful striking causing death" was introduced by then-premier Campbell Newman in 2014 after a spate of fatal punches and alcohol-fuelled violence.
Offenders faced maximum life imprisonment and be required to serve 80 per cent of their sentence behind bars.
Justice Gotterson made allowances for Renata's youth, guilty plea and the fact he spent six months in solitary confinement in a maximum security unit after being wrongly charged with assaulting two prison officers.
Renata, who was sentenced in October 2017, can apply for parole in 2024.
Australian Associated Press
