The 'reasonable judge' or 'no reasonable judge could have imposed the sentence' formulation for manifest excess in sentencing appeals is inapt and should not be used. The correct test is whether the sentence was reasonably open to the sentencing judge, applying the residual ground of error in House v The King. A sentence of 20 years for murder ordinarily requires the presence of some aggravating features or an absence of the mitigating features such as no prior convictions, spontaneous and unpremeditated conduct, early guilty plea, and genuine remorse.
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