The principle of parity cannot be used to increase a sentence on one of two co-offenders; it operates only to reduce a sentence where an offender has a justifiable sense of grievance. For offences involving attempted possession of 17 kilograms of pure cocaine (street value $7 million), a starting point of 15 years is manifestly inadequate; the lowest permissible starting point is 20 years. A discount of 25% (10% for a late guilty plea and 15% for assistance) is appropriate where the plea was entered only after unsuccessful pre-trial challenges and the assistance, while valuable on an unrelated matter, was belated and of limited value on the subject offence.
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