A sentencing judge must separately consider and determine the effect of an offender's mental conditions on moral culpability, distinct from the Bugmy principles relating to childhood deprivation. Even where psychiatric conditions are not causative of the offending, they remain relevant to reducing the sentence. A finding of fact adverse to an offender at sentencing must be proved beyond reasonable doubt and must be raised with the offender or counsel before being relied upon. Where an offender offers to plead to a lesser alternative charge before committal and the Crown rejects the offer, the utilitarian discount should reflect the timing of the offer, not the formal entry of the plea.
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