AOS3 - Factors for sentencing

Question 1

Aggravating factors

Answer 1

• Facts or circumstances about the offender or an offence that can increase the offenders culpability and lead to a more severe sanction

Question 2

Mitigating factors

Answer 2

• Facts or circumstances about the offender or an offence that can decrease the offenders culpability and lead to a reduction in sentence

Question 3

Guilty pleas

Answer 3

• A guilty plea occurs when a person admits that they committed an offence for which they have been charged
• If there are multiple charges, the offender may choose to plead guilty to some or all of them
• If an accused pleads guilty during pre-trial (committals) then a trial will not be conducted
• If an accused pleads guilty during the trial and the plea is accepted, then the accused will proceed to sentencing and the trial is adjourned
• The earlier the guilty plea, the more lenient the sanction will be as the offender is being rewarded for accepting responsibility and saving judicial resources (sentencing discount)

Question 4

Examples of aggravating factors

Answer 4

• whether the crime was planned or premeditated
  
  • hate crimes resulting from prejudice towards a particular group based on ethnicity or religion
  • the degree of brutality and cruelty
  • the offence was unprovoked or involved domestic violence
  • the victim was a particularly vulnerable person e.g. a child, the elderly or a person with disability
  • the offender had prior convictions
  • the offence took place whilst the offender was on bail or serving their CCO
  • the crime was committed in front of children

Question 5

Examples of mitigating factors

Answer 5

• genuine remorse
  
  • the crime is a result of provocation
  • the age of the offender (a young offender is less mature but more capable of rehabilitation)
  • traumatic personal history, such as growing up surrounded by family violence, drug addiction, alcoholism
  • limited or no prior criminal history

Question 6

Victim impact statements

Answer 6

• An account written by people directly (victim) and indirectly (friends/family) impacted by the offence
• This account provides insight into the physical, emotional and economic effects of the offence
• The statement can inform the judge’s decision and impact the severity of sentencing
  
  • If VIS indicates severe impact on the victim, the sentence will increase
  • If VIS indicates that the victim has forgiven the offender, the sentence will decrease
• Whilst the victim has the right to provide the court with a victim impact statement, the statement is given voluntarily