Delay in prosecution not attributable to the offender is an independent mitigating factor that cannot be treated as subsumed or 'swamped' by other sentencing considerations such as poor rehabilitation prospects or offending while on parole. Even where the first two Blanco categories (suspense and rehabilitation progress) are absent, the third category — requiring a measure of understanding and flexibility of approach for stale crimes — operates independently. Factors that would have been equally present had the offender been sentenced earlier cannot diminish the mitigating effect of delay.
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