Section 61(1) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) applies to the sentencing of offenders for murders committed before its commencement on 3 April 2000. The section is not a penalty-creating provision and does not increase the maximum penalty for murder (which remains life imprisonment under s 19A(1) of the Crimes Act 1900), and accordingly s 19(1) of the Sentencing Procedure Act does not preclude its retrospective application. Where a sentencing judge finds culpability so extreme that community interests can only be met by a life sentence, subjective factors may properly be disregarded.
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