Where a sentencing judge has been materially misinformed about the period an offender has spent in protective custody, the sentencing discretion miscarries and the appellate court will exercise a fresh discretion. A Victim Impact Statement may appropriately be used as a basis for directing conditions on parole, even though it cannot be taken into account in determining the sentence itself. For murder by a youthful offender characterised as a worst category case (but not requiring natural life), a sentence of 21 years with a 16-year non-parole period was appropriate where the offender would serve virtually the entire sentence in protective custody.
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