Mental illness is relevant to the sentencing exercise in at least four distinct respects: (1) it reduces culpability where the illness explains the offence, even where it does not amount to an excuse at law; (2) it reduces the weight to be given to general deterrence; (3) it reduces the weight to be given to personal deterrence; and (4) it is relevant to rehabilitation. A non-custodial sentence for armed robbery may be imposed in exceptional circumstances, and serious mental illness may constitute such exceptional circumstances. Whether imprisonment weighs more heavily on mentally ill offenders as a matter of NSW law was left open.
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