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Mitigating Factors: Provocation

By Baker Associates

Our blog today once again delves into the mitigating factors that are available for use by a criminal defendant at sentencing by exploring the mitigating factor of provocation. Tennessee law provides that the fact that ?the defendant acted under strong provocation? can be used as a mitigating factor by the sentencing court when determining a defendant?s sentence. Basically, this factor allows the defendant to claim that he or she would not have committed the offense if not provoked by another person or factor. Note that the provocation must be ?strong,? meaning the defendant will not be able to claim he or she was provoked if the defendant beats someone to death with a tire iron for cutting line at the movies. The reaction will have to at least seem proportional to the provocation for this mitigating factor to legitimately apply...continue to full post

Full post as published by Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog on January 14, 2010 (boomark / email).