The imposition of the same head sentence on co-offenders in an armed robbery will give rise to a justifiable sense of grievance where one offender was the prime mover, supplied the weapons, fired shots, and had a prior conviction for armed robbery, while the other was a first offender with a lesser role. In armed robbery cases, general deterrence remains of primary importance and there is less scope for leniency on account of youth, both because of the seriousness of the offence and because there are often limited prospects of rehabilitation.
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