The Verdins sentencing principles (impaired mental functioning reducing moral culpability, moderating deterrence, and affecting the weight of imprisonment) apply to intellectual disability and are not confined to psychiatric conditions. A dichotomy between intellectual disability and psychiatric illness for sentencing purposes would not accord with the broad central question identified in Verdins. However, intellectual disability does not automatically reduce culpability or modify sentencing principles; the relevance of each Verdins consideration depends on the circumstances of the particular case. New evidence of successful community-based living on bail may justify appellate intervention to substitute a non-custodial sentence even where the sentencing judge did not err.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 11 later cases that cite this judgment.
4 of the 11 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.