The Court of Appeal will only interfere on the ground of manifest excess where the sentencing judge has gone 'obviously or badly wrong', and will resist attempts to re-argue a plea in mitigation. Where the balance is struck between rehabilitation and deterrence/community protection is a matter for sentencing judges. A non-parole period of four years on a six-year sentence (providing two years on parole) can constitute a 'relatively long period of parole'. The Court will almost invariably infer that the non-parole period actually imposed reflects the sentencing judge's intention, regardless of adjectives used to describe the intended parole period.
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