A global sentence of five years imprisonment with parole eligibility after 17 months for a 17-year-old offender who pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm (single punch causing catastrophic brain injuries) together with multiple counts of robbery in company with personal violence is at the very bottom of the permissible range but not manifestly inadequate. The extreme youth of a 17-year-old offender — who in every other Australian jurisdiction would be dealt with in the youth justice system — is a highly relevant mitigating feature that distinguishes such cases from comparable sentencing decisions involving older young adults. An Attorney-General's appeal will not succeed where the submissions on appeal as to the appropriate sentencing range are inconsistent with those made by the prosecutor at the sentencing hearing, absent exceptional circumstances.
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