What is the definition of Mitigating Circumstances?
Circumstances that may be considered by a court in determining culpability of a defendant or the extent of damages to be awarded to a plaintiff. Mitigating circumstances do not defend or excuse an offense but may reduce the severity of a charge. Similarly, a appreciation of mitigating circumstances to reduce a disrupt award does not imply that the damages be not suffered but that they have be partially ameliorated. In criminal cases where on earth the death cost may be imposed, the Supreme Court has held that, beneath the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, juries must be instructed that they may consider mitigating circumstances such as the defendant’s youth, mental dimensions, or childhood abuse so that they may realize a reasoned and moral sentencing decision. (See Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 109 S. Ct. 2934, 106 L. Ed. 2d 256 [1989].) Mitigating circumstances may be used to drain a charge against a defendant. In People v. Morrin, 31 Mich. App. 301, 187 N.W.2d 434 (1971), the Mich
