Self-induced intoxication is an aggravating factor, not a mitigating one, where the offender knew from experience that drug use would make them prone to violence. The social context of drug addiction does not diminish the objective gravity of violent offending; the right to be free from physical violence is universal. An extensive criminal history of violence is relevant to moral culpability, prospects of rehabilitation, dangerous propensity, community protection, and the increased importance of specific deterrence. On Crown appeal, a sentence for intentionally causing serious injury involving a vicious unprovoked attack on a defenceless person in public, committed while on parole by an offender with extensive violent history, must reflect the requirements of deterrence, denunciation and community protection.
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