Abstract

The controversial effect of intoxication on sentencing outcomes has received renewed attention with a series of new empirical studies. However, these studies have relied on survey data that conflate alcohol and drug intoxication and miss pertinent contextual features of the offence. This article explores how alcohol intoxication, and its social context, impact sentence outcomes for violent offences. To do so, the probability of custodial sentence severity is modelled using multilevel Cox regression using data from online sentence transcripts. Findings contribute insights into how punishment is shaped by not only the presence of alcohol intoxication in offending but also in which contexts by highlighting the significant punitive effects of reference to concomitant drug use, the defendant drinking together with the victim and if the offence occurred in a private setting. This helps clarify complex considerations taken into account by sentencers when processing cases and the need for clearer guidance.

Highlights

  • Intoxication is a contentious sentencing factor (Dingwall and Koffman, 2008; Padfield, 2011), with recent studies exploring its application in determining punishment (IrwinRogers and Perry, 2015; Lightowlers, 2019; Lightowlers and Pina-Sánchez, 2017)

  • It is simplistic to assume that intoxication will always be applied as an aggravating factor and while they allow for a degree of discretion, the Sentencing Council may wish to provide further guidance to judges

  • In offering an exploration of how drinking and the social context impacts practitioners’ sentencing decisions, findings highlight the influence of contextual factors upon sentence length in cases of violence involving alcohol

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Summary

Introduction

Intoxication is a contentious sentencing factor (Dingwall and Koffman, 2008; Padfield, 2011), with recent studies exploring its application in determining punishment (IrwinRogers and Perry, 2015; Lightowlers, 2019; Lightowlers and Pina-Sánchez, 2017). These studies have relied upon the most comprehensive national data source for scrutinising sentencing practice, the Crown Court Sentencing Survey (CCSS). They found that ‘depending on a range of site-specific and case-specific considerations, intoxication evidence may expand/contract the parameters of criminal responsibility’, yielding higher or lower criminal penalties (McNamara et al, 2017: 148)

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