A sentencing judge must not treat the disparity between an adult offender's non-parole period and a juvenile co-offender's parole eligibility as a relevant consideration, because the difference is the direct consequence of different statutory sentencing regimes. Whether a juvenile's offence is 'particularly heinous' under s 176(3) of the Juvenile Justice Act 1992 (Qld) must be assessed by reference to all the circumstances of the child's own offence, including compulsion, not merely by reference to the child's criminal responsibility for a murder that was itself particularly heinous. A non-parole period of 30 years may be appropriate for murders in the worst category under s 305(2) of the Criminal Code.
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