RT Article
T1 Mitigation for a Murderer
JF American journal of criminal justice
VO 49
IS 3
SP 422
OP 434
A1 Forsyth, Craig J. 1945-
LA English
YR 2024
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1888281790
AB In this paper the role of a sociologist/criminologist as a mitigation expert in a case of double murder is examined. The defendant was a young black male defendant. The victims were his 8-month pregnant girlfriend and their unborn child. The defendant was born into terrible social circumstances; including five generations of violence; sexual abuse; incarcerated; and neglect. The circumstances of his tragic life leading up to the murder is presented as mitigation. The author of this paper has worked as a sociologist/ mitigation expert for almost 30 years in over 300 sentencing hearings/penalty phases most of which were capital murder but have also included manslaughter, habitual offenders, Miller cases; and other cases of violent crimes where the sentence is plastic. The utility of sociology in criminal cases in general is discussed.
K1 Culture of Violence
K1 Poverty
K1 Family Violence
K1 Death Penalty
K1 Mitigation
DO 10.1007/s12103-024-09761-z