A sentencing judge's description of an offence as being at the 'gravest end of the spectrum' is not equivalent to a 'worst category' finding under Kilic and does not constitute error per se. However, where a manslaughter sentence is the highest or second-highest recorded for that type of offending, approaches murder sentence levels, and the sentencing judge's stated application of Bugmy principles is not reflected in the starting point, the combination of these factors may establish manifest excess even absent patent error in the sentencing reasons. The Bugmy principles, mental illness and youth of an offender should be considered holistically rather than as separate independent factors.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 7 later cases that cite this judgment.
4 of the 7 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.