Mitigating Circumstances Flashcards
are those which, if present in the commission of the crime, do not entirely free the actor from criminal liability but serve only to reduce the penalty.
Mitigating Circumstances
Incomplete justifying or exempting circumstance;
Mitigating Circumstances which can mitigate criminal liability
The offender is under 18 or over 70 years old;
Mitigating Circumstances which can mitigate criminal liability
No intention to commit so grave a wrong
Mitigating Circumstances which can mitigate criminal liability
Sufficient threat or provocation
Mitigating Circumstances which can mitigate criminal liability
Passion or obfuscation;
Mitigating Circumstances which can mitigate criminal liability
Voluntary surrender;
Mitigating Circumstances which can mitigate criminal liability
Physical defect;
Mitigating Circumstances which can mitigate criminal liability
Illness of the offender;
Mitigating Circumstances which can mitigate criminal liability
Humanitarian reasons
Mitigating Circumstances which can mitigate criminal liability
Mitigating circumstances must be present prior to or simultaneously with the
ommission of the offense
Mitigating circumstances must be present prior to or simultaneously with the ommission of the offense, except
voluntary surrender or confession of guilt by the accused
They reduce the penalty but do not change the nature of the crime.
Effects of Mitinating Circumstances
Classes of mitigating circumstances
Ordinary mitigating; and Privileged mitigating.
Can be offset by aggravating circumstances.
ORDINARY MITIGATING
Can never be offset by any aggravating circumstance.
PRIVILEGED MITIGATING
When the offender is a minor under 18 years of age
PRIVILEGED MITIGATING
When the crime committed is not wholly excusable: class of miti?
PRIVILEGED MITIGATING
When there are two or more mitigating circumstances and no aggravating circumstance, the court shall impose the penalty next lower to that prescribed by law, in the period that it may deem applicable, according the number and nature of such circumstances class of miti?
PRIVILEGED MITIGATING
Voluntary release of the person illegally detained within 3 days without the offender attaining his purpose and before the institution of the criminal action
PRIVILEGED MITIGATING
Abandonment without justification by the offended spouse in case of adultery
PRIVILEGED MITIGATING
Concealing dishonor in case of infanticide
PRIVILEGED MITIGATING
? mitigating circumstances operate to reduce the penalty by one to two degrees, depending upon what the law provides.
Privileged
? mitigating circumstances, if not offset, will operate to reduce the penalty to the minimum period, provided the penalty is a divisible one.
Ordinary
Privileged mitigating circumstances requisites?
- Some of the conditions required to justify the deed or to exempt from criminal liability are lacking,
- The majority of such conditions are nonetheless present, and
- When the circumstance has an indispensable element, that element must be present in the case
means that not all the requisites to justify the act are present or not all the requisites to exempt from criminal liability are present.
Incomplete justifying/exempting circumstance
Effect on criminal liability of the offender of incomplete justifying circumstances or incomplete exempting circumstances; If less than the majority of the requisites necessary to justify the act or exempt from criminal liability are present, the offender shall only be entitled to an
ordinary mitigating circumstance.
If a majority of the requisites needed to justify the act or exempt from criminal liability are present, the offender shall be given the benefit of a
privileged mitigating circumstance. The imposablepenalty shall be lowered by one or two degrees.
Condition necessary before incomplete self-defense, defense of relative, or defense of stranger may be invoked
The offended party must be guilty of unlawful aggression.
Effect on the criminal liability of the offender of incomplete self-defense, defense of relative, or defense of stranger; The offended party must be guilty of
The offended party must be guilty of unlawful aggression.
Effect on the criminal liability of the offender of incomplete self-defense, defense of relative, or defense of stranger. If only the element of unlawful aggression is present, the other requisites being absent, the offender shall be
given only the benefit of an ordinary mitigating circumstance.
INCOMPLETE JUSTIFYING OR EXEMPTING CIRCUMSTANCE is ?? to exempting circumstance of accident;
Not applicable
Effects on Offenders who are:
- Over 15 but under 18 years old who acted with discernment; and
- Over 70 years old
Exempting circumstance, if he acted without discernment.
Mitigating circumstance, if he acted with discernment.
Older: Mitigating circumstance; no imposition of death penalty; execution of death sentence if already imposed is suspended and commuted.
NO INTENTION TO COMMIT SO GRAVE A WRONG Not applicable to felonies by negligence. True or false
true
Not applicable when the offender employed brute force; considered NO INTENTION TO COMMIT SO GRAVE A WRON?
No
NO INTENTION TO COMMIT SO GRAVE A WRONG ; Effect if the victim does not die in crimes against persons
The absence of the intent to kill reduces the felony to mere physical injuries.
Lack of intention to commit so grave a wrong cannot be raised as a mitigating circumstance under the
Anti-Hazing Law.
Threat need not be offensive and positively strong
SUFFICIENT THREAT OR PROVOCATION
? is any unjust or improper conduct or act of the offended party, capable of exciting, inciting or irritating anyone.
Provocation
Requisites of sufficient threat or provocation
- Provocation must be sufficient;
- It must originate from the offended party; and
- It must be immediate to the act.
Tomas’ mother insulted Petra. Petra kills Tomas because of the insults. Can Petra avail of the mitigating circumstance?
NO. There is no mitigating circumstance because it was the mother who insulted her, not Thomas.
The liability of the accused is mitigated only insofar as it concerns the harm inflicted on the person who made the provocation, but not with regard to the other victims who did not participate in the provocation
VINDICATION OF A GRAVE OFFENSE: elements
- Grave offense has been done to the one committing the felony, his spouse, ascendants, descendants, legitimate, natural or adopted brothers or sisters, or relatives by affinity within the same degree; and
- A felony is committed in vindication of such grave offense.
This has reference to the honor of a person. It concerns the good names and reputation of the individual
VINDICATION OF A GRAVE OFFENSE
refer to emotional feeling which produces excitement so powerful as to overcome reason and self-control. It must come from prior unjust or improper acts. The passion and obfuscation must emanate from legitimate sentiments.
Passion or obfuscation
Elements of passion or obfuscation as a mitigating circumstance
- Accused acted upon an impulse; and
2. Impulse must be so powerful that it naturally produced passion or obfuscation in him.
The passion or obfuscation should arise from n order to be mitigating.
lawful sentiments i
Requisites of passion or obfuscation
- That there is an act, both unlawful and sufficient to produce such a condition of mind; and
- That the said act which produced the obfuscation was not far removed from the commission of the crime by a considerable length of time, during which the perpetrator might recover his natural equanimity.
Lawlessness; or
Circumstances where passion or obfuscation is not a mitigating circumstance
Revenge
Circumstances where passion or obfuscation is not a mitigating circumstance
Requisites of voluntary surrender
- Offender had not been actually arrested;
- Surrender was made to a person in authority or the latter’s agent; and
- Surrender was voluntary.
If the accused escapes from the scene of the crime in order to seek advice from a lawyer, and the latter ordered him to surrender voluntarily to the authorities, which the accused followed by surrendering himself to the municipal mayor, will his surrender be considered mitigating?
YES, because he fled to the scene of a crime not to escape but to seek legal advice.
Requisites of confession of guilt (BAR 1999)
- The offender voluntarily confessed his guilt;
- It was made in open court (that is before the competent court that is to try the case); and
- It was made prior to the presentation of evidence for the prosecution.
Requisites of physical defect
- The offender is deaf and dumb, blind or otherwise suffering from some physical defect; and
- Such physical defect restricts his means of action, defense, or communication with his fellow beings.
Suppose X is deaf and dumb and he has been slandered, he cannot talk so what he did was, he got a piece of wood and struck the fellow on the head. X was charged with physical injuries. Is X entitled to a mitigating circumstance by reason of his physical defect?
YES, the Supreme Court held that being a deaf and dumb is mitigating because the only way to vindicate himself is to use his force because he cannot strike back by words.
Requisites of illness of the offender ILLNESS OF THE OFFENDER
Requisites of illness of the offender
- Illness of the offender must diminish the exercise of will power; and
- Such illness should not deprive the offender the consciousness of his acts.
