McCurry, Stephen

Stephen McCurry was convicted in October 2004 of supplying a controlled drug of Class A (MDMA) to another. Mr McCurry received a sentence of ten years’ imprisonment.

The CCRC received an application for review of Mr McCurry’s sentence in October 2009.

Mr McCurry had been sentenced on the basis that MDMA tablets which he had supplied were in the normal range of purity, said by the judge to be 66 percent.

During review, the CCRC obtained new forensic evidence indicating that the purity of the tablets was in fact much lower, varying between 13 and 22 percent.

Level of purity was an important factor in sentencing, the total active constituent ingredient in the tablets being used to fix the starting point for the sentence.

Following review, the CCRC concluded that there was a real possibility the Court of Appeal would find that Mr McCurry’s sentence should be reduced to reflect the actual, as opposed to the assumed, level of constituent ingredient in the drugs he supplied.

The CCRC referred the sentence in August 2009.

The Court of Appeal reduced the sentence in October 2009.