Where a co-offender's offending is objectively more serious but genuine extenuating circumstances (such as a child's serious medical condition) displace the presumption of profit motive and engage considerations of mercy, a sentencing judge may impose a lower sentence on that co-offender without infringing the parity principle. The sentencing exercise is qualitative, not quantitative, and a differential reflecting stark differences in personal circumstances — including remorse, rehabilitation prospects, and the presence or absence of extenuating circumstances — is reasonably open to the sentencing judge.
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