An offender's serious medical condition must be taken into account in setting the head sentence, not merely in fixing the non-parole period. If medical condition is taken into account in the head sentence and is then relied upon as a special circumstance to adjust the non-parole period, to avoid double counting it can only justify a relatively modest departure from the statutory ratio. A non-parole period of less than 25% of the head sentence will rarely if ever be justified by proper application of sentencing principles. The purpose of finding special circumstances is to adjust the non-parole period for reasons connected to rehabilitation or supervision needs, not simply to mitigate the overall sentence.
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