The decision in R v Constant (2016) 126 SASR 1 regarding the effect of imprisonment on an offender's young children does not establish any new principle but is merely an application of well-established sentencing principles to particular facts. A four-year head sentence for aggravated causing death by dangerous driving (methylamphetamine aggravation) with partial accumulation for leaving the scene is within the appropriate range. The existence of a young child does not preclude immediate imprisonment where the offences are sufficiently serious.
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