Aggravating Circumstances

Any fact or circumstance that increases the severity or culpability of a criminal act. Aggravating factors include recidivism, lack of remorse, amount of harm to the victim, or committing the crime in front of a child, among many others.

Legal Definition of aggravating circumstance : a circumstance relating to the commission of an act that increases the degree of liability or culpability punitive damages are recoverable in a conversion case when the evidence shows legal malice, willfulness, insult, or other aggravating circumstances Schwertfeger v.

Examples of mitigating circumstances in capital cases include the defendant's: lack of a prior criminal record. extreme mental or emotional disturbance at the time of the crime. belief that the crime was justified. role as a minor participant in the crime.

Lack of a prior criminal record. Minor role in the offense; Culpability of the victim; Past circumstances, such as abuse that resulted in criminal activity; Circumstances at the time of the offense, such as provocation, stress, or emotional problems that might not excuse the crime but might offer an explanation;

Aggravating factors include recidivism, lack of remorse, amount of harm to the victim, or committing the crime in front of a child, among many others.

Overview. Aggravating circumstances refers to factors that increases the severity or culpability of a criminal act.A mitigating factor is the opposite of an aggravating circumstance, as a mitigating factor provides reasons as to why punishment for a criminal act's ought to be lessened.

When a crime is committed by an offender who is under the influence of dangerous drugs, such state shall be considered as a qualifying aggravating circumstance in the definition of a crime and the application of the penalty provided in the Revised Penal Code. (

Aggravating factors are the reasons judges use when choosing a sentence that is higher than the average term. They include the severity of the crime, the vulnerability of the victim, and the history of the defendant.