Background
In an earlier case, our client, A, received a suspended prison sentence together with an order of probation — a second chance, meaning that A would not actually go to prison provided A stayed out of trouble for the set period. When A then failed to comply with the probation officer's instructions to report and became unreachable for a time, the prosecution applied to revoke the suspension, arguing that "the terms were not kept, so the suspension should be revoked and the sentence executed."
What Was at Stake
If the suspension were revoked, the prison sentence that had been deferred would be carried out and A would actually be incarcerated. That A had breached the obligations of probation was plain, and the breach was not easily dismissed as trivial. There was a real prospect that the "second chance" would be withdrawn and lead directly to imprisonment.
How Changchun Helped
Changchun focused on the point that "even where an obligation has been breached, revocation is not the only answer." We made clear the legal principle that because revocation of a suspended sentence brings the grave consequence of depriving a person of physical liberty, it must be approached with care and ordered only where the purpose of probation simply cannot be achieved by any lesser means. We then set out the favorable circumstances in concrete terms — ▲ that A had come forward again of A's own accord and submitted to the proceedings, and ▲ that for more than a year before the lapse A had faithfully complied with the probation officer's guidance and supervision — persuading the court that this was not yet the stage at which the opportunity should be withdrawn.
The court accepted Changchun's arguments and dismissed the prosecution's application to revoke the suspended sentence. A avoided imprisonment and was able to continue with the chance to set things right. What matters is weighing a person's circumstances as a whole, and their prospects of getting back on their feet, so that a single lapse does not lead straight to the harshest outcome. Outcomes depend on the facts of each case and may differ.