R V. Bw: The Ebony Case

R v BW & SW, more commonly known as the 'Ebony' case, was a case the rocked Australia and caused media outrage. More importantly however, the case led to an amendment of legislation regarding acts of neglect towards children and led to a state wide reform of government run community services aimed at the protection and safety of children e.g DOCs
(R v BW & SW no.3- 2009).
This case involved the needless death of 'Ebony', a seven year old non-verbal autistic girl. Ebony's body was discovered on the 3rd November 2007. When Ebony's death was investigated by authorities, it was discovered that her death was caused by the sheer neglect of her parents. The perpetrators, BW, Ebony's father, was charged with manslaughter. SW, Ebony's mother, was charged with murder. Only during the trial, was the sheer amount …show more content…
The maximum penalty for murder is life imprisonment. The standard non parole period for the murder of an individual aged 18 years or younger is 25 years. The maximum penalty for manslaughter is 25 years (s24, Crimes Act). The Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1987 was used in addition with the Crimes Act 1900 to decide on sentencing (Crimes Act 1900, The Crimes Sentencing Procedure Act 1987, R v BW & SW (No. 1) - 2009 ).
In this case, like many legal cases in Australia, precedent was used to determine the outcome of the case. Precedent relevant to this case included R v Manju Sam (No. 18) [2009] and Regina v Hoeler [2004]. These cases were relevant in providing precedent as they also involved the death of a child. The judge used the case R v Manju Sam (No. 18) (2009), to provide a true understanding of how significant the need for protection of children is in the community (R v BW & SW, no.3). Regina v Hoeler [2004] provided background on how community outrage plays a huge part in the sentencing in cases that involve the murder of a child (R v BW & SW,

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