In a first for Northland a young man convicted of murder has not been given a sentence of life imprisonment, instead getting 18 years jail, with a minimum non-parole period of seven-and-a-half years.

Emotional outbursts erupted in the court as Justice Timothy Brewer announced he would not be imposing a life sentence, which has a minimum non-parole period of 10 years, which can also be uplifted due to the circumstances of the case. Justice Brewer said the mandatory life sentence law for young people convicted of murder - those under 25 - had been changed by the Court of Appeal.

That decision - the King V Dickey - ruled that a young person convicted of murder was not automatically sentenced to life and the sentencing judge had to look at factors including their background, upbringing, depravation and take into account the fact that a young person’s brain had not developed fully and they could be more prone to impulsive actions.

All three of those convicted of murder in that case - Christopher James Brown, Georgia Rose Dickey and Katrina Roma Epiha - had been convicted of murders they committed when they were teenagers. A Court of Appeal judgement on their cases released in January reviewed the courts’ approach to sentencing young people for murder, including their “neurological immaturity” due to their age. Beyond their youth, each of the young killers had a range of personal circumstances, including histories of “significant social deprivation” and psychological conditions. These also made them less culpable for the murders they committed, the court said.

Justice Brewer said some of these factors applied in this case and stepped back from sentencing the man to a life term.

Some members of Peihopa’s friends and whānau in the court took exception to this and yelled abuse and threats before being removed from the court. Other members of his family remained in the court with pictures of Peihopa on their hoodies.

Several of them read emotional victim impact statements outlining a beloved son, brother, uncle and cousin, who was intelligent and wold do anything to help people. His death would impact on them all forever and the judge acknowledged that no sentence of the court would ever be satisfactory for them.

The man, who cannot be named at this stage, appeared in the High Court at Whangārei on Friday for sentencing after being found guilty of the murder of Whangārei man Haze Angelo Peihopa during a violent clash on Bank St around midnight on June 12 last year. He was also sentenced on a charge of assault with intent to injure using a knife after he repeatedly swung it at another man during the street fight where Peihopa was killed.

The man was 20 at the time of the murder and his young bother, who was 17 at the time, also appeared in the court on Friday for sentencing after pleading guilty to a charge of injuring Peihopa with intent to injure after he kicked him in the head while he was on the floor after being stabbed by his brother.

Justice Brewer said the brothers went into central Whangārei around 11pm on June 12 and were seen on CCTV drinking alcohol and inhaling nitrous oxide in a carpark before going to Bank St. Around 11.30pm the group the brothers were with got into a confrontation with Peihopa, and some of his friends.

At some stage during this initial confrontation the older brother and Peihopa faced off and Peihopa ended up swinging the older brother away. The man then went to a friend and asked him to ‘give me the blade, give me the blade, I’m going to shank the m**********’ The Judge said.

‘’You acquired a very large and lethal looking knife from your associate...you held it behind your back and walked towards Mr Peihopa. (The younger brother) then went to help his brother. You you tried to hit Mr Peihopa with the knife) by taking several swinging blows, but none of them connected.

Peihopa fought back and the man stabbed him once in the chest, with the blade penetrating 160mm through his chest and into his lung, severing pulmonary artery.

The man then turned away and started swinging the knife at a friend of Peihopa’s. Peihopa then fell to the ground and the younger brother kicked him in the head, although the judge acknowledged that he did not know that Peihopa had been stabbed.

Justice Brewer convicted and discharged the younger brother, saying a discharge without conviction, s asked for by his lawyer, would not adequately reflect his actions.

The judge said in regard to the older brother over the ‘reckless murder’ the King V Dickey judgement meant he had to take other factors into account and it was clear that those were relevant in this case.

He said the brothers’ early days ere good, but their father and mother ended up addicted to methamphetamine and the father joined the head Hunters gang.

The judge said their lives were filled with drugs, violence and gang life and the older brother suffered abuse. The judge said as the oldest he ended up being the father figure in the house and experienced things no young person should have to.

He gave and end sentence of 18 years jail, with a minimum none-parole period of seven-and-a-half years.

Justice Brewer told the man that his sentence was 18 years jail and it would be up to the parole Board to determine if he was ready to be released after seen-and-a-half years.

The man’s behaviour in prison would determine how much of the sentence beyond seven-and-a-half years the man served, the judge said.

The younger brother has had interim name suppression which also prevented his brother being named. And application by his lawyer for that to become permanent name suppression was turned down by Justice Brewer on Thursday.

However, he was bound to let the interim suppression order stand for five working days to give the defence the chance to appeal the decision to the Court of Appeal.