Deep depression, while a significant mitigating factor in sentencing for attempted murder, moderates but does not eliminate general deterrence. A sentence of 10 years' imprisonment with a 7-year non-parole period is within range for a premeditated attempted murder involving drugging and attempted suffocation/strangulation, even where the offender was severely depressed, pleaded guilty, showed remorse, and desisted from the attempt. The victim's inability to know what occurred while unconscious may properly be treated as an aggravating factor where it increases the victim's psychological distress.
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