When assessing the objective seriousness of a murder for standard non-parole period purposes, the offender's state of mind (including intention to kill) must be considered in association with any other mental states causally related to the commission of the crime, including mental illness or personality disorder that mitigates seriousness. An intention to kill alone cannot establish that a murder is above the mid-range of seriousness. A sentencing court dealing with a Form 1 offence must not impose a separate penalty; explicitly stating a discrete period of imprisonment for the Form 1 offence and adding it to the sentence for the principal offence crosses the line from permissible to impermissible.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 43 later cases that cite this judgment.
12 of the 43 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.