Post-sentence evidence of a deterioration in a dependant's health may be admitted on appeal where it sheds new light on material before the sentencing judge, particularly where the sentencing proceeded on an assumption (e.g., that a partner would care for children) that has been falsified by subsequent events. Where the hardship to dependent children goes beyond the ordinary consequences of a parent's imprisonment — such as the effective loss of both parents due to the other parent's serious mental illness — a merciful approach to sentencing may warrant reduction of the non-parole period even where the head sentence remains appropriate.
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