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In ''S v B'' is an important case in South African criminal law, often cited for its findings as to the considerations to be taken into account in sentencing. == Facts == The appellant was convicted in a regional court of attempted rape. He committed the crime barely a month after being convicted of ''crimen iniuria'', assault and malicious injury to property, for which offences he had received a suspended sentence. When he committed the attempted rape, the appellant was twenty-three years and the complainant sixteen years of age. In sentencing the appellant, the magistrate took into account the prevalence of rape in the area: Hardly a day goes by without the local courts dealing with one or more of these cases. And, as the prosecutor has indicated, they seem to be on the increase. It seems that the short terms of imprisonment which have been imposed in the past have not acted as sufficient deterrent. Parliament has set its face against this type of offence and has provided for the death penalty to be imposed in appropriate cases. He found that, when the appellant committed the offence, he knew exactly what he was doing, but accepted in his favour that at the time he had been intoxicated to some extent. The magistrate took into account the circumstances which prevailed when the appellant committed the offence, addressing the appellant thus: You had the complainant at your mercy, pulled her around by the hair, assaulted her, humiliated her and attempted to rape her. You are a big strong person and she had no chance against you. Fortunately you did not succeed in deflowering her. Had that happened the court would have taken a much more serious view of this incident. But it was purely fortuitous that she was not deflowered. Had you not ejaculated prematurely she might not have been a virgin today. In rape cases, the magistrate pointed out, it was not only the victim who had an interest in the outcome of the case. If the sentence were too lenient, interested and affected persons might take the law in their own hands. He referred to ''R v Karg'',〔1961 (1) SA 231 (A).〕 where Schreiner JA said, It is not wrong that natural indignation of interested persons and of the community at large should receive some recognition in the sentence that the Courts impose, and it is not irrelevant to bear in mind that, if sentences for serious crimes are too lenient, the administration of justice may fall into disrepute and injured persons may incline to take the law into their own hands.〔236.〕 The magistrate had regard, finally, to the criminal record of the appellant. He expressed the view that the court had a duty towards women, and was obliged to protect them against men like the appellant. The only way that could be done was by imposing an appropriate sentence, he said, and held that, under all the circumstances, a suspended sentence, as suggested by counsel for the appellant, would be inappropriate. The magistrate dealt with the appellant's previous record as follows: You are by no means a first offender. Your first brush with the law was on 27 April 1976, when you received five cuts following a conviction for theft. Since then you have been convicted of various other offences and your history shows a singular lack of discipline. You have become a liability to society. You committed the present offence whilst the suspended sentence, dated 20 February 1979, was hanging over your head. Your counsel has explained the nature of the ''crimen injuria'' offence and the court will accept what he said, namely that there was no physical involvement in that incident and that what had happened is that you had sworn at a woman which led to that conviction and sentence. The aims which the magistrate had therefore in mind were, in the first instance, deterrence of the appellant himself and, in view of the prevalence of rape and, indeed, an increase of rape cases heard by the courts, deterrence also of others. In view of the offence of rape being one of those offences which evokes public indignation, and in view of the character and personality of the appellant, as revealed by his criminal record, the magistrate added a fair measure of retribution. He obviously decided against a suspended sentence because the suspended sentence which had previously been imposed upon the appellant had not had any deterrent or corrective effect upon him. It had hardly been imposed when the appellant committed the present offence of attempted rape. The magistrate accordingly sentenced him to five years' imprisonment. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「S v B」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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