Smith, Gemma

Gemma Smith, tried and appealed as Ian Woolnough, was convicted at Southampton Crown Court in October 2005 of robbery. She received a DPP with a tariff of 22 and a half months, less 70 days on remand.

At the time of sentencing, she was 19. At the time of referral, she remained subject to that sentence in custody. She should have been sentenced to an IPP however this was not formally corrected.

Leave to appeal against sentence was granted by the Single Judge in February 2006, but the sentence was upheld. She applied to the CCRC in September 2025. 

Reviewing this case, the CCRC considered the impact of recent Court of Appeal judgments, in particular R v Williams [2024] EWCA Crim 686 and R v Davis & Others [2026] EWCA Crim 743, and concluded that there was a real possibility the Court would find that the sentencing judge did not give sufficient weight to the age and immaturity of Ms Smith when assessing her dangerousness and future risk.   

The CCRC referred the sentence in October 2026.