A plea of guilty to a lesser offence (manslaughter) where the accused pleads not guilty to the charged offence (murder) and contests the trial does not constitute remorse for sentencing purposes. Where a jury has rejected provocation, there is no scope for a sentencing judge to treat a 'certain degree of provocation' as a mitigating factor. Hardship to an offender's children is not a relevant consideration in fixing the non-parole period for a mandatory life sentence, particularly where the offender caused the children's deprivation of their other parent.
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