To engage the fifth limb of R v Verdins, psychological evidence must address the impact of the offender's mental conditions in the custodial environment specifically, not merely in the community. An offender's expressed preference for the structure of the custodial environment, combined with the absence of expert evidence that custody would be more burdensome, may leave no room for the inference that imprisonment weighs more heavily on the offender. Moderate to moderately severe conditions do not, without more, support such an inference.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 4 later cases that cite this judgment.