The Court of Criminal Appeal held that the phrase 'level of culpability in the commission of the offence is so extreme' in s 25F(2) of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW) should be construed consistently with the same phrase in s 61(1), encompassing both objective factors and subjective matters such as the offender's background, mental state and personal characteristics that are causally connected to the offence. While the Court found no House v The King error in the primary judge's reduction of the guilty plea discount from 25% to 15% for the murder offence, it held the overall sentence was manifestly excessive because the starting point failed adequately to account for the offender's youth (19 years), immaturity and borderline intellectual capacity. On resentencing, the Court applied the full 25% statutory discount for both offences, being unsatisfied that the culpability threshold in s 25F(2) was met for either offence when all circumstances of the offending and offender were considered.
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