A sentencing judge is not entitled to diminish the weight given to circumstances of mitigation because of a view that the prescribed maximum penalty is inadequate; the judge must respect the maximum for what it is. Section 161 of the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld) does not permit a declaration in respect of pre-sentence custody served on a charge different from the offence for which the offender is being sentenced. Being an accessory after the fact to manslaughter falls at or near the top end of the scale for s 544 offences.
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