Brown, Christopher

Christopher Brown, who was 18 at the time of the offence, was convicted in November 2005 at Exeter Crown Court of arson after setting fire to two wheelie bins. He received a sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) with a minimum term of 18 months.

Reviewing this case, the CCRC considered the impact of recent court 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 judges did not give sufficient weight to the age and immaturity of Mr Brown when assessing his dangerousness and future risk.

The Court had recently overturned several similar IPP/DPP sentences. On 23 April 2026, the indeterminate sentences of five IPP/DPP prisoners were quashed, two of them following CCRC referrals.

The CCRC referred the sentence in June 2026.