The short duration over which a spree of offending occurs does not necessarily compound the degree of criminality; where the offending has a frenzied character associated with drug and alcohol abuse, the offences may be viewed as less divisible parts of a total criminality, warranting greater moderation through the totality principle. Only in the gravest criminal offending where there is no realistic prospect of rehabilitation may the mitigatory consideration of youth be viewed as all but extinguished. A total effective sentence of 21 years and 4 months for a 19-year-old offender who committed 19 offences of armed robbery and intentionally causing serious injury over eight days was manifestly excessive; the appropriate range was 16 years and 6 months.
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