Where a young offender is sentenced for a serious children's indictable offence, s 19(2) of the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 (NSW) operates as an overriding constraint on s 19(3), so that even where special circumstances are found, no order can be made for the sentence to be served as a juvenile offender beyond the offender's 21st birthday. The majority held it is contrary to principle to select a shorter non-parole period where the purpose or effect is to circumvent the statutory prohibition on serving a sentence as a juvenile offender beyond a certain age. The weight of authority supports the proposition that the seriousness of an offence is relevant to the emphasis that can be given to the youth of an offender, and that retribution and deterrence cannot give way entirely or even substantially to rehabilitation in cases of very serious violence.
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