Sentences for manslaughter are relevant to sentencing under s 314A of the Criminal Code (Qld), subject to two qualifications: only factually similar manslaughter cases are relevant, and the increased public consciousness about deaths from blows to the head or neck reflected in the enactment of s 314A must be taken into account, limiting the assistance derivable from pre-s 314A manslaughter sentences. The enactment of s 314A did not create a sentencing regime harsher than or independent of manslaughter. For a covert, unprovoked king hit causing death in circumstances of group intimidation, a starting point of the order of 11 to 12 years imprisonment was appropriate.
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