Where life imprisonment is the statutory maximum, a sentencing judge must first consider whether the objective gravity of the offence warrants a life sentence; if not, the judge must fix a determinate head sentence according to proper principle without reference to a 'reduced' life sentence. A head sentence that amounts to a de facto life sentence should not be imposed unless a life sentence is frankly and directly imposed. The normal s 16G discount range of 30-33% is not fixed and may be reduced where the circumstances of the offence require a sentence of appropriate severity.
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