The sentence of life imprisonment remains appropriate for a wide variety of deliberate criminal killings, and sentencing judges should give sufficient weight to this principle from R v [name withheld]. A plea of guilty does not necessarily preclude life imprisonment or life imprisonment without possibility of parole. Where an offender's depression is largely attributable to the allegations and prosecution arising from the offender's own criminal conduct, the mitigating weight of that depression is significantly reduced. The premeditated murder of a complainant to prevent them giving evidence in criminal proceedings strikes at the heart of the criminal justice system and warrants the most severe sentences.
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