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GBH is a serious injury under UK law, with penalties outlined in the Offenses against the Person Act. The definition includes injuries from beatings or kicks that break the skin and cause bleeding. Section 18 allows for life imprisonment for intentional GBH, while section 20 allows for up to five years in prison. Extenuating and aggravating circumstances are considered in sentencing.
Serious Bodily Injury (GBH) is a term used under British law to refer to inflicting a serious injury on another person. The Offenses against the Person Act of 1861 establishes penalties for serious crimes against the person. Sections 18 and 20 of the Act deal with GBH offenses and set out the penalties for them.
UK law has specific wording for what constitutes a wound. The use of a weapon is not required to deal damage. The statute is written to include injuries sustained from beatings or kicks as possible grievous bodily harm. The skin must be broken and the victim must bleed to fit the definition of grievous bodily injury. A single drop of blood is sufficient to meet this standard.
Internal bleeding does not fit the legal definition required to meet the GBH standard. The blood must flow out of the body. Under the strict definition of grievous bodily injury, not even a broken bone that doesn’t penetrate the skin, called an open fracture, meets the standard.
Under the provisions of Section 18 of the Offenses against the Person Act, an individual who intentionally inflicts grievous bodily harm on another person can be sentenced to life in prison. This section refers to a deliberate and willful act by the offender. It goes on to include grievous bodily harm inflicted when the offender was attempting to thwart a person’s arrest.
Section 20 of the Act has similar wording to section 18. It refers to an offense committed with or without a weapon. A person convicted under this section may be sentenced to up to five years in prison for her crime.
The judge hearing a case involving an allegation of GBH may consider extenuating circumstances before issuing judgment. An act committed spontaneously, as opposed to a premeditated one, can lead to a lighter sentence. When making sentencing decisions, the location of the victim’s wounds is also taken into consideration. Head injuries are considered more serious than those inflicted elsewhere, and the judge can impose a more severe sentence in that situation.
Aggravating factors are also taken into consideration when a judge decides to sentence in cases involving grievous bodily harm. They include cases where the assault was pre-planned, the crime was committed by several people acting together, or the victim was a vulnerable individual or someone working in the public sector. The use of a weapon while committing an offense is another example of an aggravating circumstance that can mean a more severe penalty.
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