A sentence of three years' imprisonment with parole after nine months for a single kick to the head causing serious brain damage is within the range of a sound sentencing discretion, even where the offender has strong mitigating circumstances including previous good character, immediate remorse, provocation by a third party, and excellent antecedents. The mean average sentence for comparable GBH cases involving sustained violence was approximately two-and-a-half years with parole after twelve months. The severity of consequences to the victim is a principal justification for the sentence, and the risk of catastrophic results from violence to the head is shared between offender and victim.
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