my brother has had me charged for threatening to kill , not…

Hello and thank you for your question.

The relevant offence is here:

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/ca195882/s20.html

Although you wrote this on your brother's bedroom door a real question arises as to whether you are guilty of the relevant offence, since the offence requires that either you really intended your brother to believe you really were going to kill him, or that you were reckless as to whether he would believe it.

Without knowing the history of your relationship, I cannot be sure what you intended, or whether it was likely your brother would believe you really intended to kill him, but the fact you didn't kill him whilst he was asleep suggests you did not have any intent to kill him, and most people who received such a note from their sibling would likely not take the threat literally, but rather would simply see it as an attempt by you to show how angry you were with them. If this is your situation then I would suggest you consider pleading not guilty.

I do not know where you read that no suspended sentences would be given for offences of this sort (contrary to your statement Section 20 does not say this), but I don't believe that is the case. Although there has been recent proposed legislation regarding the restriction of suspended sentences, that legislation has not yet been passed by parliament and is therefore not law. If you refer me to your source I may comment further on this point.

In any event, however, unless you have a history of serious violent conduct or there is otherwise some reason that your brother sensibly should have taken your statement as a genuine threat to his life, I think there would be reasonable prospects of you being found not guilty. In any event, absent a significant criminal record, a court is likely to be reluctant to impose a prison sentence.

Naturally, your prospects of a successful outcome will be much greater if you are properly legally represented and to that end I would urge you to engage a lawyer to represent you. If you cannot afford a lawyer yourself for some reason, I would suggest you contact Legal Aid and see if you are eligible for their assistance, but even if you are not, do not despair, if you can explain to the court that you didn't mean to scare him but were just angry and trying to make it clear that you were upset with him, the court may well treat you leniently.

http://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/

If you are still having suicidal thoughts then I would strongly urge you to contact Lifeline or a similar support service which can offer you counselling. As a lawyer such issues are beyond my expertise, but I can say that this charge against you is not something that you should be so concerned about as to be considering suicide.

http://www.lifeline.org.au/Get-Help/

I trust the above assists your understanding.

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Thank you and good luck.

Patrick