Where a sentencing judge is not informed of an offender's protection prisoner status, the Court of Appeal may intervene to reduce the sentence to reflect the additional hardship of protective custody, including restricted access to programs, greater lockdown periods, and exposure to threats. The totality principle does not automatically require a reduction in sentence merely because parole has been cancelled post-sentencing; the court must assess whether the total effective sentence remains within the range reasonably open for the total criminality, having regard to the legislative policy in s 16(3B) of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic).
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