Home detention for attempted murder

The Herald reports:

A high school student wrote a detailed “kill plan” and told his ex to stay away from school on the day he wanted to kill her new boyfriend.

But when his plans went awry, the teen instead went to his schoolmate’s home days later, swinging a machete at his victim’s head, slicing open his chest and forearm. …

The defendant started dating a girl in 2021 but, as the relationship progressed, he became “possessive” and would get jealous if she spent time with other boys.

Police told the court the boy felt deeply for his girlfriend, verging on an obsession.

The pair split after several months, and she began seeing the victim.

The defendant started to compile information from the internet and began forming a “kill plan”, which Judge Kelly described as “chilling”.

The last entry in his kill plan notes read: “If arrested, it is what it is”.

Days before the attack he told another classmate he had been hired to kill someone.

The next day he went to school, planning to use a knife to kill the victim, but his plan was thwarted after showing the knife to a friend.

He cold bloodedly planned to murder his classmate because he saw his ex GF as his possession.

Justice Grice took a starting point of seven years in prison, but with discounts for factors including rehabilitative prospects and time already spent in a youth facility and on bail, she came to an end sentence of 12 months home detention.

Once the law changes, his sentence would be four years and three months which seems much more appropriate for attempted murder.