When defending yourself against criminal charges, there are certain evidentiary rules that can protect your history from being exposed to the jury. After all, any potential conviction shouldn’t be based on prejudicial evidence that attacks your character but has nothing to do with the alleged crime in question.
But your history can still play a part in your criminal case. This is especially true if you’re convicted of an offense and are forced to face sentencing. Here, the court and the jury will be able to assess aggravating and mitigating factors that may impact the punishment that’s dealt to you.
What are aggravating factors?
Aggravating factors are circumstances that render the offense more severe or demonstrate that you’re more culpable for crime. If there are multiple aggravating factors that aren’t offset by mitigating factors, then you’re likely to be hit with more severe penalties. Here are some of the most used aggravating factors:
- The viciousness of the crime: If the crime was extremely violent or otherwise heinous, then there’s a good chance that your sentence will be more severe.
- A lack of remorse: The court will consider how you feel about the crime that’s been committed. If you don’t seem to regret what you’ve been convicted of doing, then the court may feel that it’s necessary to implement a harsher penalty to stress upon you the seriousness of the situation.
- Your history: If you have a history of criminal activity, then the judge in your case might find it necessary to impose a tougher penalty in hopes of deterring you from committing future offenses.
- The use of a weapon: The use of a weapon, especially a potentially deadly one, will likely enhance your sentencing, leaving you facing even more jail or prison time.
- The vulnerability of the victim: You’re much more likely to be harshly punished if the offense was committed against someone who is unable to protect themselves. This includes a child, an elderly individual or a disabled person.
What are mitigating circumstances?
These are facts that tend to decrease your culpability in the offense in question and justify a lighter sentence. Some common mitigating factors include:
- Cooperation with law enforcement: The court will look more kindly upon you if you helped the police and prosecutors investigate and prosecute others who were involved in the crime in question, thereby potentially lessening the penalties that you’ll face.
- A traumatic past: If you were subjected to child abuse, homelessness or extreme poverty, then the court may feel that the crime that was committed was at least partially circumstantial or tangentially tied to factors outside your control. This can result in the judge being lighter on you during sentencing.
- Mental condition: A mental health condition or a mental health episode that was experienced at the time of the offense can indicate to the court that your actions were at least partially outside of your control. In these circumstances, the court might go easier on you.
- Lack of history: If you’ve never been involved in the criminal justice system before, then the court may not be as harsh on you when it comes time to sentencing.
- The victim’s role: If the victim was a willing participant in the crime, then the court may not feel as inclined to punish you harshly for the wrong that has occurred.
Protect your interests throughout your criminal case
There are multiple aspects to your criminal case that have to be properly addressed if you want to protect your interests. That’s why now is the time to think through your criminal defense strategy and what you can do give yourself an advantage in as many aspects of your case as possible. Hopefully then you’ll be able to either beat the prosecution’s case or secure an outcome that protects you from the harshest penalties.