A sentence of 13 years imprisonment for manslaughter on the ground of diminished responsibility was upheld (2-1) where the offender had a severe schizophrenic illness, a propensity towards violence, a long history of drug use, and was found to remain a considerable risk to the community. The dissent would have imposed 10 years, finding the mitigating factors (genuine remorse, early plea, rehabilitation efforts, total loss of capacity) were not adequately reflected. The case confirms that community protection may be taken into account as a material factor in determining sentence but must not result in impermissible preventive detention.
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