A sentence of 24 years' imprisonment with a 16-year non-parole period for a 19-year-old offender who committed murder by shooting at close range was within range, where the sentencing judge found the killing was not a revenge killing but was committed by an immature young man whose anger was fuelled by the victim's cooperation with law enforcement. Youth remains a powerful mitigating factor even for serious murder, and the observation that the significance of youth may recede in the face of serious offending does not mean age and maturity must be ignored. A non-parole period slightly below the s 11A(4)(b) statutory minimum of 70 per cent may be justified by the offender's youth, plea of guilty and length of the head sentence.
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