How does Defense Counsel use a mitigation report?
A mitigation report is the complete history of the defendant’s life experience that helps a judge or jury see the defendant as a human being, and not as a criminal. It is presented as part of defense argument. It highlights those life events that shaped the defendant and accounts for how the defendant came to be where they are today. It accounts for the defendant’s anger that resulted in the crime, their life events and difficulties, their positive and also demonstrates options for the future. How is a Mitigation Investigation Conducted? A mitigation investigation is research into the past. It is a collected history of the defendant’s life, starting from birth through early childhood, school days and adolescence, tracing significant factors that might have effected the defendant’s physical, social, emotional and psychological development. The purpose of collecting this information is to help judges and juries see the defendant as a person with a unique life, and a family history, comin
