The privileged corpus delicti indicates the presence in the case of signs that to some extent justify it or explain the reasons that influenced the commission of the action, but the criminal law does not give a clear definition of this term.
Articles 119 and 315 of the Criminal Code mention that in a criminal act there are mandatory elements that serve as the basis for initiating proceedings. They create models of specific illegal acts, are divided among themselves, determine the level of punishment. On the grounds of privileged corpus delicti, the sentence is mitigated.
Design Features
In the Criminal Code, article 61 gives a clear idea of the attendant circumstances that affect its commission, but smooth out the degree of motivation. The wrongful action still occurred, it reduced social danger, from which the law provides for the appointment of lesser punishment. Defenders are always trying to find a privileged corpus delicti in order to point him to a judge and achieve the desired verdict with a reduced term.
It is believed that Western lawyers successfully use such criteria in Anglo-Saxon law. Unlike our lawyers, they do not always succeed in proving the presence of mitigating misconduct elements and reduce the sentence. It turns out to be more effective to show the privileged corpus delicti in specific cases, without referring to similar criminal cases. A judge does not always issue the same verdict in similar proceedings. It all depends on the interpretation of the same phenomenon from different angles. In addition, cases may be similar, but not completely identical.
What types of offenses are divided into?
All criminal acts are influenced by the grounds due to which they occurred. The content of the crime lawyers include:
- the nature and level of danger to society;
- description method;
- design features of each element.
Considering the characteristic features of crime, it should be noted:
- main;
- qualifying and privileged corpus delicti.
The first is elements that represented an average degree of danger to the environment.
Qualified content should be understood as aggravating signs, reasons that are described in part 1 of Article 105. According to them, specialists qualify the act. At the same time, the special part of the Criminal Code provides in Article 63 for the presence of circumstances that differ from serious ones. They do not qualify for them, but they influence the level of punishment.
Signs of a privileged corpus delicti consist of extenuating circumstances specified in Articles 106-108 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. They affect qualifications.
Descriptions are:
- simple - one object is involved in the case;
- complex - the criminal structure includes several acts.
Reflection of circumstances
The qualified and privileged corpus delicti is reflected in their circumstances, which are determined not only by basic, but also by special criteria. The qualification and quality of the content can affect the course of events in a judicial investigation with a reduction in the sentence. During the investigation, they apply such a legal norm that reduces criminal liability due to a mitigating reason, removes the qualification from article 105.
What does judicial practice reveal?
Examples of the privileged corpus delicti in judicial practice show the commission of murders in the presence of proved affect or those protecting one's own life, their relatives and not exceeding the limits of self-defense. Cases occurred with mothers killing newborn babies after childbirth. A citizen tried to detain the criminal, he attacked him with a pistol, after grabbing his hand there was a shot with defeat. The legislator singled out the benefits as a separate legal element in order to separate the real crime from those that do not belong to them.
The action happened, but partially justifies it:
- moral crisis;
- affective mental state;
- inadequate assessment of the situation.
What is the essence of the matter?
The main qualified privileged corpus delicti indicates that there is no deliberate evil intention in it, which means that the offender will not be morally degraded. In jurisprudence, persons committing such acts are considered harmless to society, they admit recognition of their guilt, in which they repent. Each crime of this nature is described in the articles of the Criminal Code. Depending on the circumstances, mitigating signs that are influenced by a particular situation are classified.
Subject characteristic
The court is considering the case of the murder of an infant committed by the mother. Determine the time of the crime before or after childbirth. The action can occur in the first month of the child’s life because the mother received psychological trauma and was in a state of insanity or was fully aware of the result, but there are extenuating circumstances:
- material difficulties;
- father left the family;
- financial dependence on parents against whose will the birth took place.
It would seem that the death of a child cannot justify the condition of a woman, but the court takes into account the circumstances that created the stressful situation. Provided that there were no intentional malicious intentions that arose even before delivery at any time.
What is important for the court?
The distinguishing features of corpus delicti are distinguished by many. The crime is committed instantly, without plans and the realization that you will have to answer for it. With malicious intent, the offense is carefully planned, the traces are destroyed. The investigator investigates, and the court considers the method of killing:
- blow, suffocate;
- inaction - the child was left without food, water, in a cold room.
The punishment depends on the competence of the judge, whether he will take into account the special circumstances and whether they consider them mitigating or not.
Signs of affect
In crime series, heroes often use the term “state of affect”, where during the investigation, investigators argue how to qualify the crime, what kind of nervous tension the killer had when he stabbed him with multiple wounds. Affect is a person’s position in a strong emotional state, as well as:
- physiological effect;
- lack of ability to manage actions;
- uncontrollable anger.
A citizen may be absolutely sane at that moment, but anger and despair blocked his mind.
Exemption Examples
Crimes committed in the passion, are accompanied by the reasons that the victim provoked, and the presence of a legal fact of the offense. There are many cases in life when loved ones cause aggressive mental outbursts after seeing what they see:
- wives in love ecstasy with a friend of their spouse forget that they are in a conjugal bed when their husbands suddenly find them;
- businessman zeroed his partner's account;
- the confrontational partner shifts his guilt;
- physical abuse of a daughter in front of the father;
- public ridicule, bullying.
The circumstance will be considered mitigating if the response follows immediately after it became known. When a person begins to think, plan his revenge - this is a sign of willful crime. In judicial practice, there was a case: a man tried to cover himself with passion from jealousy, took his wife out into the woods, engaged in self-mutilation for a long time, and mutilated the woman. The judge passed a sentence - imprisonment for 12 years. The court did not discern extenuating circumstances.
Necessary self-defense
Article 108 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for severe punishment if the offender considers that he is in danger of life and killed a person. Only a real threat from the deceased with arms in hand can exclude the effect of an article confirming the excess of self-defense measures. The criminal act will be to kill the attacker:
- without a knife, a gun (empty-handed);
- sharp, stitching, any improvised devices were not used;
- there are no acts dangerous to the criminal.
These rules must be observed by employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, specialists of any power structure who are forbidden to use their official position. According to the law, when a maniac, a terrorist, dangerous to society, is detained, he must:
- be tried in a legal authority;
- not subjected to lynching.
The death penalty has been abolished, and individuals are not entitled to decide who lives. Although even for the population, many coercive measures seem too lenient if they know that the alcoholic abused the child. Their passion will not disappear after the trial, only one desire will remain - to tear the rapist to pieces.