A fatal hit-and-run driver who called his Aboriginal victim an oxygen thief shirked his moral obligation to stop and assist on the basis of racism, a court has been told.
In June 2024 Jake Danby hit two Aboriginal men with his car, killing one and injuring the other, but when sentenced he was only given a 12-month community corrections order, with five months in home detention.
Following public uproar the Northern Territory Director of Public Prosecutions appealed the sentence as "manifestly inadequate".
In the Court of Criminal Appeal in Darwin on Thursday, prosecutor Pat Williams highlighted the "shocking" and "repugnant" text messages Danby posted in the hours after the hit-and-run.
It emerged in his earlier court case that the 24-year-old had bragged in text messages that the man he killed was an "oxygen thief" and he would not go to jail.
He called it a "two for one combo" and texted it was "pretty funny watching them roll around on the road after going over my bonnet".
Mr Williams argued the messages elevated Danby's crime to the aggravated level and a prison term of more than two years was required given the seriousness of the offending and public expectations.
There was a moral obligation on everyone when someone was hit on the roads to stop and render assistance to fellow citizens, he said.
But Danby had acted recklessly while over the speed limit and had driven straight off after hitting the two men, Mr Williams said.
Danby made plain through the use of repugnant terms in his text messages that part of the reason for rejecting his moral obligation was his view his victims were inhuman, he said.
"The basis for his rejection was a racist one."
Mr Williams said avoiding detection after a hit-an-run needed to be severely punished so as to deter such avoidance.
Defence counsel Jon Tippett said the sentencing judge had taken note of Danby's text messages and while being appalled by them gave them appropriate but not undue weight.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Brownhill had given his client a chance of rehabilitation and counselling, and he was abiding by his corrections order amid public condemnation of his actions, he said.
"The renunciation in this case has been a tarring and feathering by the community."
Mr Tippett said his unsophisticated client had been a frightened person on the day of the hit-and-run and had acted in a way that brought him into disrepute.
Courts shouldn't sentence people on the basis of their stupidity or vile comments, he said.
The appeal court of three judges has reserved its decision.
NT Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby has come under fire over the Danby case, accused of not reporting a conflict of interest after it emerged he was her sister's stepson.
Ms Boothby said she never attempted to hide the fact Danby was an extended family member and at no time was she or her office involved in the criminal matter.
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