A Cromwell man jailed following the death of his friend during a drunken quad-bike incident has had his appeal rejected. Last month, defence counsel Fiona Guy Kidd argued before the High Court at Dunedin that the sentence should have been one of home detention. Judge Michael Turner at sentencing said Mitchell exhibited a high degree of carelessness - the bike was faulty, no one was wearing a helmet and it was overloaded. Ms Guy Kidd says Judge Turner erred because he did not appreciate Mitchell would have employment while on home detention. Mitchell had also been disqualified from driving for two years and ordered to pay $2000 reparation for emotional harm.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 06, 2017 23:26 UTC