Drug addiction leading to the commission of armed robbery is not an excuse but is a relevant mitigating factor that may show the offender's descent into crime was a secondary consequence of desperation produced by human weakness rather than a primary choice. The real weakness of character may be that of a drug addict rather than that of a robber. Where armed robbery is committed without personal violence to victims, that absence of violence ought to be reflected in the sentence. Multiple armed robberies committed over a short period (two days) may properly be viewed as a single spate of criminal conduct rather than as a separate aggravating factor.
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