A sentencing judge who fails to have regard to expressions of remorse contained in a letter to the court, a pre-sentence report, and a psychiatric report commits an error of fact requiring re-sentencing. Where an offender's motivation is grossly irrational and highly unusual, the role of general deterrence is substantially reduced even in the absence of psychiatric illness. The absence of spontaneous remorse in a forensic interview does not warrant an inference of insincerity, particularly where cultural and linguistic barriers exist.
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