When considering a criminal case, any detail can play a decisive role, and sometimes the measure of punishment can both decrease or increase.
Accordingly, there are so-called aggravating circumstances and circumstances that mitigate the punishment. Next, we will talk in more detail about circumstances aggravating the guilt of the defendant.
So what are aggravating circumstances? In the legislation, such circumstances are considered objective, as well as subjective signs of an act of the defendant and his personality, which, one way or another, go beyond the scope of the offense. In 63 tbsp. The UKRF singles out aggravating circumstances such as:
- relapse or repeated commission by the defendants of offenses. Sometimes such circumstances are recognized as withdrawn or extinguished criminal record. Most often, relapse occurs due to an ineffective punishment for the first offense;
- the onset of serious consequences that go beyond the scope of the offense also falls under the category of “aggravating circumstances”;
- participation in a crime committed by a group of persons, in a crime committed by prior conspiracy and the organization of criminal groups also aggravate the guilt of the defendant. Group crimes are much more dangerous, as a group of people actively contributes to each other, joining forces to commit an offense.
Other circumstances arising from this clause aggravating criminal liability. This is primarily active participation in the commission of a crime. In this case, “active participation” means a particularly important contribution to the commission of the offense. As a rule, this is characteristic of the group organizer, for some performers and instigators.
The following aggravating circumstances are also distinguished:
- the involvement of minors and children who have not reached partial legal capacity, and therefore are not able to bear criminal responsibility; involvement in committing a crime of people with mental disorders and persons intoxicated. In this case, the fact of intoxication and mental illness must be known in advance to the perpetrator;
- committing a crime in order to hide the traces of an act committed earlier, or to ease the punishment for it. In this case, this circumstance is recognized as aggravating, since in fact two independent encroachments are committed;
- committing a crime based on revenge, racial or religious intolerance is also recognized as an aggravating circumstance, since it violates the equality of citizens proclaimed by the Constitution;
- implementation of a crime against a pregnant woman. In this case, the fact of pregnancy must be known in advance to the guilty. It also aggravates the guilt of committing a crime against a minor or an elderly person, since in this case the victim cannot protect himself and his interests;
- crime against a person who is dependent on the guilty or is in a helpless state. A particular danger of this crime is that such an act shows the highest degree of moral decline of the individual.