A plea of guilty entered during the COVID-19 pandemic ordinarily attracts a more pronounced amelioration of sentence than at another time, but a sentencing judge is not required to expressly identify the pandemic context as a separate factor when referring to the utilitarian value of the plea, provided it is apparent the judge was aware of and did not reject the submission. The sentence of six years and six months for home invasion involving a vulnerable elderly victim, planning, disguises, and a co-offender group was upheld as within range.
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