Drug sentencing policy faces challenge in court
GUERNSEY’S strict drug sentencing policy will be challenged in the Court of Appeal next month when a paediatric nurse, who imported drugs for personal use, seeks to overturn the prison term he is currently serving.
In what is being seen as a landmark legal test case, Pip Orchard and two others, are questioning what they believe are ‘draconian’ court sentencing guidelines.
Mr Orchard, now 30, was given a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence earlier this year for importing just over half a teaspoon of cocaine and 30 alprazolam tablets, commonly known as the tranquilliser Xanax.
He had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder following his charity work in refugee camps in Calais and Greece, and had turned to drugs in an attempt to cope.
Advocate Sam Steel, who is leading the test case, said that judges and jurats had an unenviable task.
‘Our sentencing guidelines for drug importations are notoriously severe,’ he said.
‘Personal use will not generally result in a lighter sentence.
‘I understand why Pip’s many supporters want the guidelines reviewed.
‘Such a review could take evidence from a range of NGOs (non-governmental organisations), the experience of other jurisdictions, current data regarding seizures, arrests and the impact of custodial sentences on the offender and rates of reoffending, and public opinion too.’
At stake are the so-called ‘Richards guidelines’ which became the benchmark for judges and Jurats following an appeal by Englishman Mark Richards in 2002.
The guidelines set out the sentencing bands for bringing in drugs, and they also instructed that importation for personal use should not generally result in a lighter sentence.
More than 6,000 have signed a petition calling for Mr Orchard’s prison sentence to be replaced with a community sentence.
His father, Tom, said it was a complex and difficult matter.
‘It challenges us on many levels.
‘It has challenged me as a parent dealing with his deep personal trauma, it challenges the draconian sentencing guidelines to become more flexible and humane and offer more considerate punishments, it challenges the political life of the island to make realistic changes to our laws, and to provide sufficient funding for mental health and probationary services.
‘There has been some positive movement and I am deeply grateful for the support that my family have received – we can
all do better and we should.’
During Pip Orchard’s sentencing hearing, the court heard that he had become traumatised following his charity work with refugees and had felt let down by local mental health services.
