A sentencing judge's approach of making a global allowance for the adverse effects of imprisonment on an offender's mental health is not erroneous where the offender is receiving treatment in prison, there is no evidence of deterioration, and the offender's prior history shows failure to engage with community-based treatment. Where an offender is sentenced as a serious violent offender under s 6D of the Sentencing Act 1991, the requirement to regard community protection as the principal sentencing purpose may counterbalance any moderation otherwise warranted by mental health considerations.
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