Inordinate delay in prosecution not attributable to the offender operates as a powerful mitigating factor at multiple levels: (1) the sentence should not jeopardise ongoing rehabilitation; (2) fairness requires recognition that the matter has been hanging over the offender's head; and (3) there is an inconsistency between the prosecution claiming the offence is serious while proceeding in a leisurely manner. Where the offender has not reoffended during the delay period, the delay is reckoned from the date of offending to the date of sentence.
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