More time needed for Morant sentence

A self-styled religious pastor who convinced his wife to kill herself will have to wait another week before finding out how long he will spend behind bars.

Graham Robert Morant, 69, was the sole beneficiary of his wife Jennifer's three life insurance policies - totalling $1.4 million - when she took her own life on the Gold Coast in November 2014.

A Brisbane Supreme Court Jury has already found Morant guilty of counselling his wife to take her own life as well as helping her carry out the act.

On Friday, prosecutors argued Morant, who wanted to use the life insurance money to build a bunker in the Gold Coast Hinterland to ride out the religious rapture, was motivated by greed in encouraging his wife to die.

They said a sentence between 10 to 14 years would be appropriate with no parole period.

The defence, however, argued Morant was motivated by compassion for his wife, who lived with chronic back pain and found even the most simple everyday tasks difficult.

They instead pushed for an eight-year sentence, but with a parole period of just six months.

All parties agreed the trial was unprecedented in not only Australian law but internationally as well.

In light of the complexity of the case, Justice Peter Davis reserved his decision for a week to properly consider all the arguments.

"I didn't think there was any compelling evidence (Morant) was in bad financial straits. My impression is simply that $1.4 million in the context of the rest of the case is a carrot," Justice Davis said.

Morant was again remanded in custody, after bail was denied earlier this month despite Justice Davis accepting he is a low risk to the community and had never breached his bail conditions.

He'll learn his fate next Friday, November 2.

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