A sentencing judge must not fix a parole eligibility date beyond the halfway mark of the head sentence without first adverting to that possibility and providing the parties with an opportunity to make submissions, even where the alternative of a serious violent offence declaration has been canvassed. In group assault manslaughter cases, the absence of weapons is of less significance where the mechanism for the offence is an orchestrated, sustained and vicious group attack. A pre-trial offer to plead guilty to manslaughter that is rejected by the Crown, where the defendant then contests both murder and manslaughter at trial, may legitimately be given limited weight in sentencing.
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