An offer to plead guilty to manslaughter may be of limited mitigating value where the accused was in grave jeopardy of a murder conviction and was hardly likely to avoid conviction for manslaughter; such an offer cannot be described as a generous concession and is not necessarily indicative of remorse. The question whether there is or should be an inflexible rule requiring a sentencing discount for an offer to plead guilty to the offence of which the accused is ultimately convicted was expressly left open by two members of the Court.
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