nd declares that the elimination of disparity and the provision of uniformity of sentences can best be achieved by determinate sentences fixed by statute in proportion to the seriousness of the offense as determined by the Legislature to be imposed by the court with specified discretion."
For each crime constituting an offense under the Penal Code, a upper, middle or lower term is stipulated. In sentencing the defendant, the Court must take into account circumstances in aggravation and mitigation under rules established by the state Judicial Council. Under Judicial Council Rule 421, Cal. Rules of Court, eleven categories of facts relating to the crime and five categories of facts relating to the defendant are listed as aggravating circumstances. A number of those categories relate to the violent or non-violent nature of the crime, whether it produced great bodily harm or the threat thereof, whether the facts disclosed a high degree of cruelty, viciousness or callousness, whether the defendant was armed with or used a weapon during the commission of the crime, the
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