Random street violence involving affray and recklessly causing serious injury attracts substantial sentences even for young offenders with mitigating features, particularly where the offender has a prior conviction for similar violence. A trained martial arts fighter who punches victims in the head with awareness of the high probability of serious injury demonstrates a high level of culpability. In sentencing for affray, the court may have regard to all consequences of the affray including a death caused by a co-offender as indicative of the seriousness of the affray. The mitigating influence of youth must yield to deterrence and denunciation where the criminality is serious.
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