Circumstances mitigating and aggravating punishment are prescribed in the Criminal Code. Their significance is great. Since in some cases the fate of the accused depends on their presence or absence.
Certain factors can affect not only the criminal judgment. There are also circumstances mitigating administrative responsibility (circumstances in this case may be aggravating).
They can be attributed to:
- pregnancy;
- difficult life circumstances;
- minority;
- the presence of physical or mental pressure;
- official dependence;
- young children under guardianship;
- violation of the limits of emergency, necessary defense, reasonable risk, and so on;
- immoral or unlawful behavior of the victim;
- Contributing to the investigation, surrender;
- Providing the victim with medical care, delivering him to a medical institution.
This list is not exhaustive. For this reason, the court may take into account any other extenuating circumstances. In general, the law classifies such circumstances as signs of a crime. This means that they cannot be re-taken into account when sentencing.
Mitigating circumstances, such as confession, as well as first aid to the victim in the complete absence of aggravating circumstances, mean that the accused can be sentenced to a maximum of two-thirds of the term for the crime committed.
The described does not apply to cases when it comes to the death penalty or life imprisonment.
A person shall be recognized as having committed a crime for the first time if he had not committed any other crimes before this incident. This is also taken into account in cases where the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution has expired, a criminal record has been withdrawn, and so on.
In this case, a minor is recognized as a person who, by the time the crime was committed, had not reached the age of eighteen, but had already reached the age of fourteen. It is generally accepted that the psyche at this age is still being formed. This means that it is difficult for minors to assess the situation adequately.
Mitigating circumstances include pregnancy. This is a manifestation of the sign of humanism in criminal law. It is caused by care not only about the health of the woman herself, but also about the health of her unborn child.
Mitigating circumstances include the presence of young children. We are talking about children who have not reached the age of fourteen.
A crime committed due to difficult life circumstances is also considered more gently. It is a difficult marital status, illness, poor housing and material conditions. In life, it may happen that crime is the only way to rectify the situation: there is nothing to feed the children, there is no money to pay for the apartment, and so on.
Mental and physical coercion also mitigate guilt. In certain circumstances, both can be considered as circumstances precluding guilt. This is only possible when it is possible to prove that the accused could not do otherwise.
Immorality and wrongfulness of the victim’s behavior are also included in extenuating circumstances. Unlawfulness means a violation of any legal norms. The essence of immoral behavior is to violate the rules of etiquette, rudeness, non-compliance with moral standards.
Confession means voluntary confession of a crime, assisting in the search for accomplices, and so on. The turnout is not recognized as voluntary in those cases when the search began.