Introduction
This paper will critically analyze the case of Bugmy v The Queen (2013) 249 CLR 571 (Bugmy v The Queen) examining the High Court rejection of the appellant’s submissions that ‘…sentencing courts should take into account the “unique circumstances of all Aboriginal offenders” as relevant to the moral culpability of an individual Aboriginal offender,’ and that ‘…courts should take into account the high rate of incarceration of Aboriginal Australians when sentencing an Aboriginal offender.’ The grant of special leave in, Bugmy v The Queen had provided occasion for the High Court to rule on the significance of Indigenous background in sentencing in relation to other sentencing considerations. The analysis will consider the elements of …show more content…
The analysis will include how the High Court decision wasted an opportunity to support the Aboriginal People in accessing equality.

This essay will examine the considerations for sentencing Indigenous offenders as a unique group, and identifies the “unique circumstances of all Aboriginal offenders” which has relevance to moral culpability of an individual Aboriginal offender. ‘The history of Aboriginal people since European settlement is that they have been the subject of unprovoked aggression, conquest, pillage, rape brutalization, attempted genocide and systematic and unsystematic destruction of their culture,’ and this has had a significant impact on the Indigenous communities wellbeing. The inherit problems relating to Indigenous peoples disadvantage, includes being part of the Stolen Generation, as these people are more likely to come into contact with police in their adolescence, unemployment and poverty, as often poverty translates to crime and drug and alcohol abuse, alcohol consumption is one of the most significant factors that underlies Indigenous persons arrest rates . The