Question

A jury must decide whether a defendant, already judged should receive the death penalty. They are told that the defendant committed the crime after years of physical abuse, a fact that could argue for a sentence less than death. This is an example of a(n)_____ factor.

a.discretionary
b.disparity
c.aggravating
d.mitigating

Answer 1

d.mitigating

Step-by-step explanation:

This is a mitigating factor. A mitigating factor is a fact of relevance as it can reveal the motivations of the crime. Although not sufficient to absorb the defendant, except in cases of self-defense, when there is evidence of mitigating factors, this can be used to soften a defendant's penalty if it is proven that the motive for the crime was not misleading. A good example is the case in which the defendant committed a murder, and he was sentenced to death, but there is a mitigating factor: the defendant suffered physical abuse for years and killed his attacker. The jury can understand that the defendant committed the crime due to the suffering caused by the victim, which would be different from a crime motivated by trite motives. Thus, the death penalty can be understood as disproportionate and it can be reversed to a less severe penalty.