A youth offender's subjective circumstances — including prejudicial upbringing, mental health conditions, and intoxication — do not preclude a finding that vehicular manslaughter offences were 'particularly heinous' under s 176(3)(b)(ii) of the Youth Justice Act 1992 (Qld) where the objective features of the offending (protracted dangerous driving culminating in deaths of innocent bystanders) outweigh those subjective factors. A sentence of 10 years' detention with 60% release order for two counts of vehicular manslaughter by a 17-year-old with an extensive criminal history was within the proper exercise of the sentencing discretion.
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