The fact that an offence is committed while a person is at conditional liberty operates as an aggravating factor on sentence by virtue of its existence at the operative time, not because of its capacity to rationally affect the criminality of the offence. This applies even where the offence involves excessive self-defence. A sentencing judge's assessment of objective seriousness as an evaluative exercise is reviewable only on House v The King principles, and the appellate court will be slow to set aside such a finding. Diagnosed mental health conditions (Depressive Disorder, Substance Use Disorder) do not diminish the weight of general deterrence where they are unrelated to the specific offending.
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