The existence of the Dangerous Prisoners (Sexual Offenders) Act 2003 (Qld) obviates the need for a sentencing judge to speculate about an offender's future dangerousness when determining whether to impose a life sentence, as the Act provides a post-sentence protective regime. Life imprisonment for sexual offences other than murder remains exceptional and should not be imposed where the purposes of sentencing can be met by a lesser sentence. Where voice identification witnesses are parents identifying their own child's voice, the risks of erroneous identification are slight and a general warning as to the dangers of voice identification will ordinarily suffice.
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