A sentencing judge's finding that 'not too much can be made of' an offender's disadvantaged background, where that background includes parental introduction to drugs at age 5 and significant emotional neglect, may contribute to a finding of manifest excess even where no individual error is demonstrated. The introduction to drugs at a very young age by a parent, combined with emotional neglect and absence of a mother, constitutes a significant mitigating factor going to moral culpability under Bugmy principles, notwithstanding that the offender was not subjected to domestic violence or homelessness. Where the discount for a guilty plea is undisputed, justice demands that the appellate court focus on the notional starting point to assess whether the sentence is manifestly excessive.
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