Murder
Murder is generally referred to as the unlawful killing of a person with intent.
Our Sentencing Spotlight looks at sentencing outcomes for the offence of murder finalised in the Queensland Courts between 1 July 2005 and 30 June 2016 and shows:
- murder was relatively infrequent — 195 offenders were sentenced for murder over the 11-year-period
- 185 offenders were adults, while 10 were aged under 17 at the time of the offence, of which 4 were dealt with as an adult and 6 were dealt with as a child
- all offenders dealt with as an adult received a sentence of life imprisonment. Of the six offenders dealt with as a child, two received a life sentence and four received sentences of 8, 10, 12 and 14 years
- the vast majority of offenders sentenced for murder were male (93.3%)
- the average age of all offenders at the time of sentencing was 37 years: the average age of male offenders was 36.6 years and female offenders 42.8 years
- in the vast majority of cases (82.1%), the offender was known to the victim in some way
- the majority of offenders entered a plea of not guilty (72.3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders comprised 18.5% of offenders
- just under 10% of offenders were charged with multiple murders
- murder was the most serious offence for which offenders were sentenced, with the most common additional offence being either deprivation of liberty or false imprisonment.