A man who stabbed his friend to death after a night of excessive drinking should receive a reduced sentence because of his diagnosed alcohol use disorder, a lawyer has argued.
Clive Whyte, 64, murdered Martin Bebbington at his Alexandra home in Victoria's northeast on December 7, 2020.
Mr Bebbington called triple zero at 1.30am after several hours of drinking, telling the operator he needed an ambulance because Whyte had a knife.
The operator then heard Mr Bebbington scream four times and drop the phone, breathing heavily for a time before stopping.
Whyte told the operator his friend was dead, admitting "we've both been drinking so it looks like I'm the culprit or f***ing whatever".
He took the case to trial in the Victorian Supreme Court and a jury in November found him guilty of murder.
In a pre-sentence plea hearing on Tuesday, Whyte's barrister Sarah Keating argued there was a realistic causal link between her client's diagnosed alcohol use disorder and the offending.
Ms Keating said Whyte was highly intoxicated on the night of the murder, leaving him disinhibited and reducing his level of sound judgment.
She argued his level of moral culpability was also reduced because his diagnosed alcoholism constituted a mental impairment.
As a result, Ms Keating said Whyte should receive a shorter jail term.
Justice Amanda Fox said it would be setting a new legal precedent if she agreed with the defence argument.
Prosecutor Raymond Gibson KC urged the justice not to follow that route because Ms Keating could not support her proposition with other relevant court decisions.
He said the heavy drinking and the alcohol use disorder were relevant contextual factors in sentencing but they did not reduce Whyte's level of moral culpability.
Whyte will be sentenced as a later date.
