Section 5(2HA) of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) is directed to whether the offender's impaired mental functioning was caused substantially by self-induced intoxication, not whether the offending itself was caused substantially by self-induced intoxication. Where an offender has a pre-existing intellectual disability that is causally linked to the offending, the fact that the offender was also intoxicated at the time of offending does not engage s 5(2HA) to disqualify reliance on the s 5(2H)(c)(i) exception. Self-induced intoxication at the time of offending may nonetheless be relevant to s 5(2H)(c)(i) by potentially breaking the causal link between the impairment and the offending, or by negating the reduction in moral culpability.
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