A sentence of nine months periodic detention for maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm involving a vicious, sustained, planned attack causing permanent brain injury is manifestly inadequate, even where the offender is a youthful first offender of good character with emotional immaturity. While emotional immaturity may justify greater weight to rehabilitation and less to deterrence, and youth and lack of prior record may justify periodic detention over full-time custody, these factors cannot reduce the sentence below the permissible range for the objective gravity of the offence. On a Crown appeal, double jeopardy principles may preclude imposition of full-time custody where the respondent has already served a substantial portion of the original periodic detention sentence.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 25 later cases that cite this judgment.
11 of the 25 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.