The honeymoon killer : plea bargaining and intimate femicide : a response to Watson

In October 2003, US citizen Christina Thomas died while scuba diving on Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef. Following over five years of delays, her husband David Watson accepted a plea bargain to which he pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the basis of criminal negligence. Watson was initially sentenced to four and a half years imprisonment, suspended after 12 months, however this was later increased on appeal to suspension after 18 months. Using Watson as a framework for analysis, this article examines some of the limitations of an inefficient justice system, with a particular focus on the private nature of the plea bargaining process, and the potentially favourable representations and sentencing of men who kill a female intimate partner. The authors argue that the need to respond to court inefficiency and under-resourcing in the criminal courts creates pressures that can result in a desire for increased efficiency being prioritised above other justice concerns, and this allows for existing flaws within the operation of the criminal justice system to be exacerbated, and excused

'Fortunately We in Victoria Are Not in That UK Situation': Australian and United Kingdom Perspectives on Plea Bargaining Reform

The polarisation between consistency, controls and the unscrutinised discretionary powers held by criminal justice agencies is a complex issue that transcends jurisdictions. In the Australian State of Victoria, this conflict is particularly evident in the prosecutor’s decision-making powers in the plea bargaining process, because these powers are not subject to scrutiny and the decisions made under them are not transparent. Furthermore, plea bargaining itself is a non-formalised and unscrutinised method of case resolution. While the use of discretion is an important component of prosecutorial work, it is the potentially individualised and idiosyncratic nature of unscrutinised discretionary decisions that results in plea bargaining and prosecutorial decision-making in Victoria giving rise to perceptions of inappropriateness and misconduct. Drawing upon the voices of Victorian and United Kingdom legal professionals, this article critically analyses the controls placed on United Kingdom prosecutors by the Attorney General’s Guidelines on the Acceptance of Pleas and the Prosecutor’s Role in the Sentencing Exercise 2009 (UK), and considers whether similar guidelines could be implemented in Victoria to redress problems surrounding the idiosyncratic nature of prosecutorial decision-making in plea bargaining. By offering a unique insight into the perspectives of those involved in plea bargaining, this article explores the benefits of implementing a transparent and scrutinised control on prosecutorial discretion in plea bargaining, and considers whether this would in turn offer greater safeguards, consistency and transparency of prosecutorial decision-making in Victoria

The Salivary Alpha-Amylase Response to Resistance Training

The purposes of this dissertation were to investigate the response of salivary alpha-amylase to a single resistance training session and to a week-long resistance training over-reaching protocol. The major findings of this dissertation are as follows: Study 1 – A single resistance training session consisting of 5 sets of 10 repetitions of squat and bench press at 95 percent of repetition maximum creates a statistically significant increase in salivary alpha-amylase concentrations. Study 2 – Two resistance training sessions consisting of 5 sets of 10 repetitions of squat and bench press at 95 percent of repetition maximum within 5 days does not create a statistically significant change in resting baseline salivary alpha-amylase concentrations. These results are corroborated by not causing statistically significant change in perceived stress, as measured by Total Mood Disturbance, calculated from the Profile Of Mood States questionnaire, nor causing a change in perceived stress calculated from the Daily Analysis of Life Demands for Athletes survey

Image-based abuse: Gender differences in bystander experiences and responses

Image-based abuse (IBA) refers to the non-consensual taking, sharing or threat to share nude or sexual images. Research suggests people who witness IBA behaviours can reduce the extent and impacts of its harm by taking action to intervene. However, there is limited research available on the attitudes, experiences and role of bystanders in the prevention of IBA. This paper presents findings from a national study examining bystanders’ experiences of, and responses to, witnessing IBA. Informed by a survey of 245 Australian adults in four jurisdictions, this paper shows that while witnessing IBA is common, few respondents reported taking action to intervene, and there are gender differences in bystander readiness to intervene. The findings have important implications for the development of bystander intervention and education programs

Legal aid and access to legal representation : re-defining the right to a fair trial

The unmet demand for legal aid generally and for criminal law matters in particular, has grown with the expansion of crime control and restrictions on funding for publicly funded welfare and support services. This article examines the connection between legal aid, legal representation and the right to a fair trial. It presents an in-depth case study of Victorian case law and policy development to illuminate dilemmas in the prioritised allocation of legal aid resources in serious criminal trials. It then compares the Victorian courts’ approach to a fair trial, with the tenets of current European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence regarding the scope and timing of an accused person’s right to access a lawyer. The comparison underlines the narrow definition of fair trial under Victorian common law, relative to Europe, where a fair trial is interpreted more broadly to include the right to legal representation during police and pre-trial investigations. The article questions whether international developments in access to legal aid for criminal trials and the extension of legal aid and representation to pre-trial procedures, most notably through the Salduz case (heard in the European Court of Human Rights), may inspire change in Victoria

Preventing image-based abuse in Australia: The role of bystanders

This report examines image-based abuse and bystander intervention in Australia. Image-based abuse involves three main behaviours—non-consensually taking/creating nude or sexual images, non-consensually sharing/distributing nude or sexual images, and threatening to share/distribute nude or sexual images. In this report, we present data from an online survey of 245 Australian residents (aged 18–71 years), 35 face-to-face focus groups with 219 participants and a review of available resources on bystander intervention and image-based abuse. Ultimately, we found that many people do not intervene when witnessing image-based abuse. While 64.1 percent of respondents had witnessed image-based abuse, only 45.6 percent reported that they said or did something. We also discuss a range of barriers to and facilitators of intervention, such as the social and physical safety risks of intervention, potential impacts on interpersonal relationships, gender, the potential for escalation, and whether participants perceived they would receive support from others. The report also shows that participants have limited knowledge of existing image-based abuse resources and supports. We argue that improved education and awareness of image-based abuse is needed to actively discourage it and highlight its harms and consequences, alongside education on how bystanders can safely and effectively intervene and/or support victims when witnessing image-based abuse

Perpetration of Image-Based Sexual Abuse: Extent, Nature and Correlates in a Multi-Country Sample

This study examined Image-Based Sexual Abuse (IBSA) victimisation in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand (n = 6,109). Findings showed that 37.7% (n=2,306) of respondents had at least one IBSA victimisation experience since age 16. Logistic regression analyses further identified that demographic characteristics (age, sexuality, disability/assistance), attitudes towards IBSA, and experiential variables (including online behaviours) were each predictors of IBSA victimisation. Though gender did not explain overall extent, the relational contexts and impacts of IBSA remained gendered in particular ways. Implications of the study are discussed with respect to conceptualising gendered violence and future research