“Responding to the Culpable State: Is Sentence Mitigation Appropriate?”

The title of this post is the title of this recently published book that was just brought to my attention by the publisher, who offered this audience a discount code: “Order online at www.bloomsbury.com — use the code GLR BD8 to get 20% off!”  The book has 15 intriguing chapters, and is edited by Leo Zaibert, Julian V Roberts and Jesper Ryberg.  This helpful description (along with a table of contents) appear on the publisher’s website for the book:

This volume explores ethical aspects relating to claims for mitigation arising from culpable state action (or inaction).

It answers the important and controversial question: to what extent should the state mitigate sentencing for defendants who have been victims of state misconduct?

The volume explores the normative justifications for mitigation and answers many intriguing questions.  For example, in terms of the procedural challenges, should the offender have to prove a causal link between state wrongdoing or neglect and the offending?  Can a court take judicial notice of state-induced social adversity and apply this consideration to all affected offenders?  Other questions relate to the implications for courts and sentencing commissions which issue guidance to courts regarding mitigation at sentencing. To what extent is the offender less culpable as a result of state misconduct, and what are the limits of any resulting sentence reductions?  Do sentence reductions for state misconduct undermine proportionality, or deprecate the seriousness of the impact on the victim of crime? Should this factor be included in any sentencing guidelines or possibly even as a statutory mitigating factor?

Each contribution explores a distinct, cross-jurisdictional claim for mitigation on the basis of State negligence or misconduct towards the offender.  The chapters all address the appropriate response of courts at sentencing.