The case confirms that the threshold for family hardship as a mitigating factor in sentencing remains 'extraordinarily difficult to satisfy', requiring circumstances so exceptional that it would be 'inhuman' to refuse leniency. An offender claiming sole carer status must ordinarily demonstrate that all reasonable alternative avenues of care have been explored and exhausted. The more serious the offence, the less capacity the court has to mitigate punishment on the basis of family hardship.
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