Article 13 Flashcards
Those which, if present in the commission of the crime, do not entirely free the actor from criminal liability, but only serve to reduce the penalty
Mitigating Circumstances
Two classes of mitigating circumstances
- Ordinary mitigating circumstances
- Privileged mitigating circumstances
A class of mitigating circumstances that are enumerated in subsections 1 to 10 of Article 13
Ordinary mitigating circumstances
A class of mitigating circumstances that are enumerated outside of Article 13
Privileged mitigating circumstances
Examples of privileged mitigating circumstances
Articles 68, 69, 64, 268
68: Penalities imposed upon a person under 18 years of age
69: When a crime is not wholly inexcusable
64: Rules for the application of penalities with three periods
268: Voluntary release of a person illegally detained within three days
Distinctions between ordinary and privileged mitigating circumstances
As to nature:
1. O: Can be offset by generic aggravating circumstances
2. P: Cannot
As to effect
1. Reduce the penalty to minimum period, provided the penalty is divisible
2. Reduce the penalty by one or two degrees
Those mentioned in the preceding chapter, when all the requisites to justify the act or to exempt from criminal liability in the respective cases are not attendant
Article 13 paragraph 1
Examples of Article 13 paragraph 1
- Incomplete self-defense, defense of relatives, defense of strangers
- Incomplete avoidance of a greater evil or injury
- Incomplete justifying circumstance of performance of duty
- Incomplete exempting cirucmstance of minority
- Incomplete exempting cirucmstance of accident
- Incomplete exempting cirucmstance of uncontrollable fear
- Unlawful aggression should be PRESENT; if unlawful aggression + 1– Article 69 governs
- If with discernment and is 15 above but 18 below– Article 68
- If 2nd (due care) and 4th (without intention)– Article 365 (culpable felonies)
That the offender is under 18 years of age or over 70 years. In the case of the minor, he shall be proceeded against in accordance with article 192 of PD 603
Article 13 paragraph 12
Legal effects of various ages of offender pursuant to RA 9344
- Under 15, exempting (Article 12, par. 2)
- Over 15 but under 18, exempting UNLESS with discernment (Article 12, par. 3 and Art. 68, par. 1
- Under 18, privileged mitigating circumstance or suspension of sentence
- 18 over, full criminal liability
- 70 over, mitigating (Art. 12, par. 2), no death penalty (Art. 47), suspension of death penalty (Art. 83)
That the offender had no intention to commit so grave a wrong as that committed
Article 13, paragraph 3
a.k.a. praeter intentionem– the blow went beyond the intent
T/F. Lack of intent to kill reduces the felony to mere physical injuries but is NOT mitigating in that regard
True. See People v. Ural (supra)
That sufficient provocation or threat on the part of the offended party immediately preceded the act
Article 13 paragraph 4
Any unjust or improper conduct or act of the offended party, capable of exciting, inciting or irritating any one.
Provocation
Three requisites of Article 13 paragraph 4
- Sufficient provocation
- Originate from offended party
- Immediate to the act