In South Australia, the relevance of self-induced intoxication to sentencing is not confined to the binary question of whether it mitigates or aggravates the offending; the fact and reasons for intoxication are relevant to fashioning a sentence intended to protect, punish, deter and rehabilitate. The Victorian 'out of character' exception from Hasan v R does not represent the law in South Australia. Where an offender's addiction is linked to childhood trauma and mental illness, the combination of youth, intoxication, and mental illness must be considered together, not in isolation, and may temper the demands of general deterrence and condign punishment without necessarily warranting suspension of the sentence.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 5 later cases that cite this judgment.
1 of the 5 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.