The two-stage sentencing methodology applied in R v Johnston, involving a quantified percentage discount for assistance to authorities, comes close to two-stage sentencing which is generally foreclosed by authority at common law; the Court declined to apply it. There is no fixed tariff or discount for assistance to authorities; the amelioration must be determined according to the nature and extent of cooperation, willingness to give evidence, and danger flowing from cooperation. In the context of instinctive synthesis, a guilty plea and assistance to authorities are moderating factors, not mathematical deductions from a hypothetical starting sentence.
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