These Sheffield and South Yorkshire offenders who appeared at Sheffield Crown Court and Lincoln Crown Court had taken either alcohol or illicit substances when they perpetrated their crimes, according to barristers.
Some explanations show how offenders’ difficult lives led them to resort to alcohol or drugs and they have ended-up suffering with uncontrollable addictions which have compounded their situation.
These nine cases include a boozed-up convicted paedophile who killed a fellow inpatient on a hospital ward, an alcohol-fuelled thug who attacked two former partners, and a motorist who had been drinking and smoking cannabis just hours before she was involved in a crash which left left he son-in-law paralysed.
Judges have the unenviable task of both punishing but also trying to provide scope and support for rehabilitation where alcohol and illicit substance abuse can be viewed as both sad influences on a defendant’s character but they can also be perceived as aggravating factors of offending.
Some explanations show how offenders’ difficult lives led them to resort to alcohol or drugs and they have ended-up suffering with uncontrollable addictions which have compounded their situation.
7. Dominic Hurst
“Drug-fuelled” pest Dominic Hurst, pictured, was put behind bars after he breached a restraining order by continuing to harass and threaten his relatives. Sheffield Crown Court heard in June how Hurst, aged 33 at the time of sentencing, of Whitehall Crescent, at Stocksbridge, Sheffield, was originally convicted of causing damage and threatening to cause damage concerning his relatives, as well as burgling a pharmacy. Prosecuting barrister David Hewitt said Hurst had attended his auntie and grandparents’ address and made threats with an axe and he received a five-year restraining order in 2019 but between November 2021 and February 2022, he sent disturbing text messages to his auntie. Hurst was sentenced to 12 months of custody after he pleaded guilty to breaching a restraining order concerning his auntie and grandparents. Zaiban Alam, defending, said Hurst has struggled with alcohol, drug and mental health issues. Photo: SYP
8. Jacqueline Dewhurst
Motorist Jacqueline Dewhurst, pictured, who had been drinking and smoking cannabis hours before getting behind the wheel of a vehicle was jailed following a crash which left her son-in-law paralysed. Lincoln Crown Court heard in September, 2021, how Dewhurst, aged 45 at the time of sentencing, of Nodder Road, Woodthorpe, Sheffield, flipped her car into a field in Lincolnshire after she tried to drive from Sheffield to Skegness after a party. A blood test showed Dewhurst would have been double the legal limit for both alcohol and cannabis at the time of the crash. She pleaded guilty to causing injury by serious driving. Dewhurst was sentenced to 18 months of custody and she was banned from driving for five years. Photo: SYP