An offender's mental health condition at the time of the offence may bear upon the objective seriousness of the offence, not merely as a subjective feature. Where intoxication arises from long-standing addiction intermingled with an underlying personality disorder rather than reckless conduct, it operates to mitigate rather than aggravate the offence. Sentencing judges must make express findings as to moral culpability where the evidence establishes a causal association between mental health issues and the offending.
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