Between Conviction and Sentence - The Process of Mitigation

• NCJ Number: 81432
• Author(s): J Shapland
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 174 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Great Britain Home Office
• Sale Source: Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This study examines the process between conviction and sentencing in British criminal court. The speech made by the defendant or his/her legal representative in mitigation of the offense receives special emphasis.

Abstract

All defendants before courts of first instance who plead guilty or are convicted of an indictable offense experience the court's decisionmaking procedure. The sentencing decision is affected largely by information which may be provided by the prosecutor, the police investigator, the probation service officer, and medical and psychiatric experts. In addition, the defendant explains any mitigating circumstances in a speech. Unlike a trial, this process is not regulated by rules for exclusion of evidence or definitions of mitigating or aggravating circumstances. By reseaching the records of 100 court cases and interviewing barristers, solicitors, judges, and other concerned professionals, the author shows how the sentencing process operates, how the various participants determine what information to present, how they interact with one another before the hearing and in court, and what effect this has on the information presented. The study analyzes the content of speeches made on behalf of the defendants to ascertain what is considered mitigating and aggravating, and compares this with perceptions of these concepts in everyday life. The author comments on the self-image of legal represntatives in the mitigation context along with approaches to gathering information and preparing speeches. The study assesses the usefulness of the mitigation speech compared with the impact of the other contributors by determining its effects upon the sentencer. The conclusion considers the consequences of this sentencing procedure for the unrepresented defendants, participants' training, the concepts of offense and offender produced in the process, and the future direction of the system. Tabular data, 53 references, and appendixes containing formal interview questions and suggestions for change are provided.