Tariffs
11 March 2002 - 10.00
Court 4
Royal Courts of Justice
The decision of the Lord Chief Justice on tariff in the case of Wayne Henry in accordance with the Practice Direction dated 27 July 2000 (The Times 9 August 2000)
1. Wayne Henry was born on 9 October 1990. On 17 February 1998, at the Central Criminal Court Henry was convicted of murder and was sentenced on 13 March 1998 to be detained during Her Majesty's Pleasure. The offence was committed on 10 February 1997, at which time Henry was 16 years of age.
2. Henry stood trial with 7 co-defendants. Three others, Steven Musoke (date of birth 19 May 1977), Sheldon Nelson (date of birth 1 March 1975) and Henry Mukasa (date of birth 22 October 1979) were also convicted of murder. One other co-defendant was convicted of violent disorder and the remaining three were acquitted.
3. Henry had previous convictions for robbery, burglary and possession of a bladed article.
Facts of the Offence
4. In the afternoon of the 9 February 1997 Samuel Magulu was involved in an argument with Steven Musoke at the Faith Growth Church in Croydon. In the early hours of 10 February 1997 8 youths travelled in two cars to Mr Magulu's home in New Cross, London. When Mr Magulu opened the door Mukasa, Musoke, Henry and Nelson rushed in, chased Mr Magulu upstairs to his bedroom and attacked him. Mr Magulu ran downstairs to his living room, but was followed by his assailants. Henry had a knife.
5. Mr Magulu suffered two stab wounds in the attack, one to the right thigh and another to the chest, which was fatal. The prosecution's case was that one of the defendants had caused the fatal injury, though it was impossible to determine which one.
6. The trial judge, HHJ Grigson, recommended a tariff of 12 years for Henry. He described Henry as having a leading role in the offence and as being 'dangerous'. The judge recommended tariffs of 10 years for each of Musoke and Mukasa and 12 years for Nelson. The Lord Chief Justice stated that he had no 'reason to question the trial judge's assessment of the relative responsibility of these young men'. He went on to say that he would 'have been inclined to have recommended somewhat longer terms in each case, but the difference would be small'. In December 1999 Henry's tariff was set by the Secretary of State at 10 years.
Post-Conviction Behaviour
7. Henry's initial behaviour after his conviction was poor amassing a total of 42 adjudications, mostly for disobedience. He has spent two periods on basic regime because of his poor behaviour. However, according to the report of Senior Officer Lowther, Lifer Liaison officer at HMYOI Morland, dated 15 June 2001 his behaviour has begun to improve since 2001 with some evidence of greater maturity.
8. Henry does not accept responsibility for the offence, though he accepts he was present at the scene of the crime. In the report of Darrel Fisher, Probation Officer, dated 8 May 2001, Mr Fisher notes that Henry accepts that by being part of the group who were there when the deceased was killed he was 'part of the action'. This is described by Mr Fisher as a 'significant shift in terms of culpability' which will allow Henry to begin to address his offending behaviour on transfer into the adult prison system.
9. Henry has worked as a cleaner and a servery worker in his time at HMYOI Morland. However, he was sacked from the latter because of a fight with a fellow inmate. The number of adjudications received by Henry has prevented him from completing many educational courses he has started.
Representations on behalf of Henry
10. Representations have been made on Henry's behalf by Messrs Sears Blok dated 30 August 2000 and 28 January 2002. I have taken these into account in reaching my conclusions.
The Views of the Deceased's Family
11. No representations have been received on behalf of the deceased's family.
Conclusions
12. The trial judge recommend 12 years, the then Chief Justice made recommendation that he would have been somewhat higher. I would not now interfere with the Home Secretary's tariff of 10 years.