The first-ever televised sentencing at the Old Bailey has taken place as a young man is jailed for the manslaughter of his grandfather.
Ben Oliver, 25, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 10 years and eight months this Thursday by Judge Sarah Munro QC. Footage of the sentencing was broadcast across news channels and has been made available online via Sky News, the BBC and ITV.
It comes after a change in the law in 2020 that allowed cameras to be brought in the crown court, however its implementation was delayed due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The sentencing took place in Court Two, one of the Old Bailey's oldest courtrooms.
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The defendant, from Bexleyheath, South London, was cleared of murder after he admitted to the manslaughter of 74-year-old David Oliver on January 19 last year. In sentencing, Judge Munro laid out Oliver's troubled upbringing, autistic spectrum disorder, and depression.
She took note that Oliver loved his grandparents until he discovered allegations of sexual abuse involving his grandfather. He soon felt nothing but hatred for his grandfather and developed an "obsessional tunnel vision" which led to the decision to kill in a "ferocious" way, according to the judge.
Oliver's grandfather received 21 stab wounds to the face and seven to the torso. After the incident, Oliver told his grandmother: "He cannot hurt you anymore now."
The judge told Oliver: "In your case, I do consider the seriousness of the offence does justify a life sentence.” It was previously heard in the trial that he had repeatedly stabbed the victim in the face and neck while he lay "helpless" in his bedroom.
Prosecutor Louis Mably QC told jurors that the attack was carried out in the intention to kill because Oliver was "very angry" upon learning about the sexual abuse allegations. Jurors were told how the defendant grew up in "troubled and difficult times", and was convicted of sexual offences against a young girl when he was aged 15.
He was released from youth detention in September 2019. In mitigation, Jennifer Dempster QC said: “The word tragic is a word perhaps over used in this building to describe some cases – not so in this particular case.”
She added: "This is a young man who on a number of levels was woefully let down by those who should have been looking after him." The move to broadcast Oliver's sentencing was announced by the Ministry of Justice on Wednesday, with broadcaster declaring it a "landmark moment for open justice" and a "victory for the viewer".
Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said: “Opening up the courtroom to cameras to film the sentencing of some of the country’s most serious offenders will improve transparency and reinforce confidence in the justice system.
“The public will now be able to see justice handed down, helping them understand better the complex decisions judges make.”
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. Lord Burnett of Maldon, said: "I think it’s an exciting development because it will help the public to understand how and why criminals get the sentences that they do in these very high-profile cases.”
“Sentencing of serious criminal cases is something in which there is a legitimate public interest. And it’s always seemed to me that this is a part of the criminal process which can be recorded and broadcast in many cases, but not all, without compromising the administration of justice or the interests of justice.”
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