"I kept thinking about pulling the knife out and all the blood".
Kye Martin sat silently in the dock on Thursday as the victim impact statement of a stranger, whose life he changed forever, was read out to him.
For the victim, his scars are a constant reminder of a night out with friends that ended in violent chaos - after Martin handed a knife to his mate Coora-Jye Wieczorek in the midst of an ugly street brawl.
Martin turned and walked away as Wieczorek stabbed the victim once, a second swing left the blade lodged in the victim's side.
It's forever altered the way the victim views the world, having lost his self-confidence and sense of safety in the violent attack in the early hours of the morning on May 22, 2022.
Martin, 20, was due to be sentenced in Newcastle District Court on Thursday, but a compelling argument from his barrister Rebecca Suters about his intellectual disability and capacity to think through the consequences, along with emotional evidence from his mother Karen gave Judge Peter McGrath pause.
"He came home from Newcastle that night and I knew when he came in there was something wrong," Ms Martin told the court.
"He just wasn't himself, heavy breathing, I just knew - it's a mother's instinct I suppose."
Having seen video footage of the fight on social media, and again in court, Ms Martin said she "felt sick" and couldn't believe her eyes.
"It's just not him, he's not like that," she said.
"I was just more blown away that it happened, that he'd done it, that he was involved in something like this."
In court, Ms Suters argued Martin had fallen in with an antisocial group and that he felt peer-pressured to put the knife in his pocket at a Rutherford home before heading to a Newcastle West venue for drinks.
She argued his intellectual disability meant he was unable to properly consider the consequences of handing the knife to co-offender Wieczorek - who was jailed for a maximum of three years and six months in May.
A solicitor appearing for the DPP said her position was that incarceration was the only appropriate penalty for Martin.
"He did take the knife, he did turn his mind to what would happen to it when he handed it over to the co-offender, he did understand that it may be used to stab somebody," she said.
"This is an incredibly difficult matter, it's quite an unfortunate situation but this is a matter of violence on the streets and general deterrence, community safety and adequate punishment needs to be on the court's mind."
Martin has pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and common assault.
He told the court he felt "very bad and sad" about what he had done and was "very sorry" to the victim.
"I felt pressured, they were like telling me to take it," he said.
"I put it in my pocket and I went.
"He asked for it and I felt like pressured again for it, so I passed it to him.
"I wasn't really thinking, why I did do it, I thought he was going to scare them with it but I had a feeling he would use it too."
After hearing submissions from both sides, Judge McGrath adjourned the matter to assess whether Martin might be suitable for house arrest and community service.
He told the court he hadn't made up his mind about whether Martin would be sent to jail or may be able to serve his sentence in the community under conditions.
"I know it's very stressful for you because you don't know whether you're going to jail or not, and you won't know that today," he said.
The case will return to court at the end of October.
