1.
Definition.
Are those which, if present
in the commission of the crime, do not entirely free the actor from criminal
liability, but serve only to reduce the penalty.
2.
Basis.
Based on the diminution
of either freedom of action, intelligence, or intent,
or on the lesser perversity of the offender.
3.
Classes.
1. Ordinary mitigating - enumerated in subsections 1 to 10 of Article 13.
2. Privileged mitigating
a. Art 68. - Penalty to be
imposed upon a person under 18 years of age
1. Upon a person under 15 but
over 9, that he acted with discernment, a discretionary penalty but always 2
degrees lower
2. Upon a person over 15 and
under 18, penalty next lower than that prescribed by law.
b. Article 69. Penalty to be
imposed when the crime committed is not wholly excusable. Penalty lower by 1 or
2 degree
c. Article 64. Rules for the
application of penalties which contain 3 periods
Privileged mitigating
circumstances applicable only to particular crimes.
1. Voluntary release of the
person illegally detained within 3 days without the offender attaining his
purpose and before the institution of criminal action. Penalty is 1 degree
lower. Art. 268, par 3
2. Abandonment without
justification of the spouse who committed adultery. Penalty is 1 degree lower.
Art. 333, par. 3
4.
Distinctions
Ordinary mitigating
circumstances
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Privileged mitigating
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Offset by any aggravating
circumstance
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Cannot be offset by
aggravating circumstance
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Produces only the effect
of applying the penalty provided by law for the crime in its minimum period,
in case of divisible penalty
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Produces the effect of
imposing upon the offender the penalty lower by 1 or 2 degrees than that
provided by law for the crime.
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----------------Mitigating Circumstances----------------------
1. Those
mentioned in the preceding chapter, when all the requisites necessary to
justify the act or to exempt from the criminal liability in the respective
cases are not attendant.
Is
applicable only when unlawful aggression is present but the other 2 requisites
are not present in any of the cases referred to in circumstances Nos. 1, 2, 3
of Art. 11. Is entitled to a privileged
mitigating circumstances referred to in Article 69.
1. Incomplete self-defense,
defense of relatives, and defense of stranger. 1st requisite is present but the
other 2 are not.
2. Incomplete justifying
circumstances of avoidance of greater evil or injury. The last 2 requisites are
not present.
3. Incomplete justifying
circumstances of performance of duty.
Where
only one of the two requisites are present:
a.
That the accused acted in performance of a duty or in the lawful exercise of a
right; and
b.
That the injury caused or offense committed be the necessary consequence of the
due performance of such duty or the lawful exercise of such right or office.
4. Incomplete justifying
circumstance of obedience to an order.
·When
all the requisites necessary to exempt from criminal liability are not
attendant.
1. Incomplete
exempting circumstance of minority over 9 and under 15 years of age.
Mitigating
circumstance where only one of the two requisites are present:
a.
That the offender is over 9 and under 15 y.o; or
b.
That he does not act with discernment
2. Incomplete
exempting circumstance of accident.
These
4 requisites must be present in order to exempt one from criminal liability:
a.
A person is performing a lawful act;
b.
With due care;
c.
He causes an injury to another by mere accident; and
d.
Without fault or intention of causing it.
i)
If 1st requisite and 2nd part of 4th requisite are absent, it is intentional
felony.
3. Incomplete
exempting circumstance of uncontrollable fear.
If
only 1 of the 2 requisite are present, it is mitigating circumstances:
a.
That the threat which caused the fear was of an evil greater than or at least
equal to, that which he was required to commit;
b.
That it promised an evil of such gravity and imminence of an ordinary person
would have succumbed to it.
2. That the
offender is under 18 years of age or over 70 years. In the case of the minor,
he shall be proceeded against in accordance with the provisions of Article 80
(Art 192, P.D. No. 603)
Basis. Based on the
diminution of intelligence, a condition of voluntariness.
Contemplates the ff:
1.
An offender over 9 but under 15 years of age, who acted with discernment.
2.
An offender over 15 and under 18 (see also Art. 68)
§
Article 68 provide mitigating circumstance:
1.
Upon a person under 15 but over 9 yrs of age, who is not exempt from liability
by reason of the court having declared that he acted with discernment, a
discretionary penalty shall be imposed, but always lower by 2 degrees at least
than that prescribed by law for the crime which he committed.
2.
Upon a person over 15 and under 18 the penalty next lower than that prescribed
by law shall be imposed, but always in the proper period.
•
Requisites:
1.
That the minor must be tried in accordance with the provisions of the Art 192
PD 603
2.
That after trial the minor was found guilty and committed to the custody of a
reformatory institution or to the custody of a responsible person; and
3.
That the minor became incorrigible while in the reformatory institution or
while in the custody of a responsible person.
3.
An offender over 70 years of age.
· In
the case of minor, he shall be proceeded against in accordance with the
provisions of Article 192 of PD No. 603.
§ Requisites:
1.
The offender was under 18 years of age, but over 9 years, at the time of the
commission of the offense with which he is charged.
2.
After hearing the evidence, the court, found that the youthful offender
committed the act charged against him.
· Legal effects of various ages
of offender:
1.
Under 9 years of age - exempting circumstance (Art. 2, par. 2);
2.
Over 9 and under 15, he acted without discernment - exempting circumstances;
3.
Minor delinquent under 18 - sentence may be suspended;
4.
Under 18 - privileged mitigating circumstance
5.
18 yrs above - full criminal responsibility
6.
70 or over - mitigating circumstance
1. When
he committed an offense punishable by death, penalty shall not be imposed
2. When
death sentence is already imposed, it shall be suspended and commuted.
3. That the
offender had no intention to commit so grave a wrong as that committed.
Rule. This circumstance can be taken
into account only when the facts proven show that there is a notable and
evident disproportion between the means employed to execute the criminal act
and its consequences.
Basis. Intent-element of voluntariness
in intentional felony-is diminished.
Intention,
as an internal act, is judged not only by the proportion of the means employed
by him to the evil produced by his act, but also by the fact that the blow was
or was not aimed at vital part of the body.
This
3rd subsection is not employed when the offender employed brute force.
It
addresses itself to the intention of the offender at the particular moment when
he executes or commits the criminal act; not to his intention during the
planning stage.
Not
applicable to felonies by negligence. The reason is that in felonies through
negligence, the offender acts without intent. Hence, there is no intent on the
part of the offender which may be considered as diminished
Applicable
only to offenses resulting in physical injuries or material harm. Not
appreciated in cases of defamation or slander.
4. That
sufficient provocation or threat on the part of the offended party immediately
preceded the act.
Provocation. Any unjust or improper
conduct or act of the offended party, capable of exciting, inciting, or
irritating any one.
Requisites.
1. That
the provocation must be sufficient.
Sufficient. Adequate to excite a person
to commit the wrong and must accordingly be proportionate to its gravity.
2. That
it must be originate from the offended party.
3. That
the provocation must be immediate to the act, ie., to the commission of the
crime by the person who is provoked.
Note: Threat immediately preceded the
act. The threat should not be offensive and positively strong, because, if it
is, the threat to inflict real injury is an unlawful aggression which may give
rise to self-defense.
5. That the
act was committed in the immediate vindication of a grave offense to the one
committing the felony, his spouse, ascendants, descendants, legitimate, natural
or adopted brothers or sisters, or relatives by affinity within the same
degree.
Basis. Diminution
of voluntariness
Requisites.
1.
That there be a grave offense done to the one committing the felony, his
spouse, ascendants, descendants, legitimate, natural or adopted brothers or
sisters, or relatives by affinity within the same degree;
2.
That the felony is committed in vindication of such grave offense. A lapse of
time is allowed between the vindication and the doing of the grave offense.
Lapse of time
is allowed between the grave offense the vindication.
Provocation
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Vindication
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Made
directly only to the person committing the felony
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The
grave offense may be committed against the offender's relatives
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The
cause that brought about provocation need not be a grave offense
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The
offended party must have done a grave offense to the offender or his
relatives
|
It is
necessary that the provocation or threat immediately preceded the act
|
The
vindication of the grave offense may be proximate; admits of an interval of
time between the grave offense done by the offended party and the commission
of the crime by the accused
|
Reason
for the difference:
It concerns the honor of a person, an
offense which is more worthy ofconsideration than mere spite against the one
giving provocation or threat
Basis to determine the gravity
of offense in vindication.
1.
Social standing of the person
2.
Place
3.
Time the insult was made
Grave
offense must be directed to the accused.
Vindication
of a grave offense incompatible with passion or obfuscation. They cannot be
counted separately or independently.
6. That of
having acted upon an impulse so powerful as naturally to have produced passion
or obfuscation.
Basis. Loss of reason and self-control because of
excitement, thereby diminishing the exercise of his willpower
Rule. Passion or obfuscation may
constitute a mitigating circumstance only when the same arose from lawful
sentiments.
+Must
originate from legitimate feelings, and not from vicious, unworthy and immoral
passions.
+Passion
or obfuscation may lawfully arise from causes existing only in the honest
belief of the offender.
For this reason, even if there
is actually passion or obfuscation on the part of the offender, there is no
mitigating circumstances when:
1.
That the act is committed in a spirit of lawlessness;
or
2.
The act is committed in the spirit of revenge.
Requisites:
1.
That there be an act, both unlawful and sufficient to produce such condition of
mind; and
2.
The crime committed by the accused must be provoked by prior unjust or improper
acts of the injured party.
3.
That said act which produced the obfuscation was not far removed from the
commission of the crime by a considerable length of time, during the
perpetrator might recover his normal equanimity.
Notes:
It is
necessary that the act which gives rise to the obfuscation be not removed from
the commission of the offense by a considerable length of time, during which
period the perpetrator might recover his equanimity.
The
crime committed must be the result of a sudden impulse of natural and
uncontrollable fury.
Passion or obfuscation
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Treachery
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Mitigating
circumstance
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Aggravating
circumstance
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The
offender loses his self-control and reason and cannot deliberately employ a
particular means, method or form of attack in the execution of the crime
|
The
mode of attack must be consciously adopted
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Passion or obfuscation
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Irresistible force
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Mitigating
circumstance
|
Exempting
circumstance
|
Cannot
give rise to an irresistible force
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Requires
physical force
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Is in
the offender himself
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Must
come from a 3rd person
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Must
arise from lawful sentiments
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unlawful
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Passion or obfuscation
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Provocation
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Produced
by an impulse which may be caused by provocation
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Comes
from the injured party
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The
offense which engenders perturbation of the mind need not be immediate
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Must immediately
precede the commission of the crime
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The
effect is loss of reason and self-control on the part of the offender
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The
effect is loss of reason and self-control on the part of the offender
|
7. That the offender had voluntarily
surrendered himself to a person in authority or his agents, or that he had
voluntarily confessed his guilt before the court prior to the presentation of
the evidence for the prosecution.
Two mitigating circumstances are
provided in this paragraph.
1.) Voluntary surrender to a person in authority
or his agents.
2.) Voluntary confession of guilt before the
court prior to the presentation of the evidence for the persecution.
1.) Voluntary surrender to a
person in authority or his agents.
Requisites.
1.
That the offender had not actually been arrested.
2.
That the offender surrendered himself to a person in authority or to the
latter's agent.
Person in authority - member of some
court or governmental corporation, board or commission.
Agents of a person in authority - has
direct provision of the law, or by election or by appointment by competent, is
charged with the maintenance of public order and protection and security of
life and property and any person who comes in aid with the authority.
That the surrender was voluntary.
Requisites of voluntariness.
Voluntary surrender must be spontaneous in
manner that it shows the interest of the accused to surrender unconditionally
to the authorities, either:
1.
He acknowledges his guilt; or
2.
He wishes to save them the trouble and expenses necessarily incurred in his
search and capture.
Requisites of plea of guilty.
1.
That the offender spontaneously confessed his guilt;
2.
That the confession of guilt was made in open court, that is, before the
competent court that is to try the case; and
3.
That the confession of guilt was made prior to the presentation of the evidence
for the prosecution.
Plea of guilty is not mitigating
in culpable felonies and in crimes punishable by penal laws.
Art 365, par. 5: Penalties for culpable
felonies. In the imposition of these penalties, the courts shall exercise their
sound discretion, without regard to the rules prescribed in Art. 64.
When
the crime is punished by a special law, the court shall exercise its sound
jurisdiction, as Art 64 is not applicable. Penalty prescribed by special laws
is usually not divisible into three periods.
8. That the offender is deaf, dumb,
blind, or otherwise suffering some physical defect which thus restricts his
means of action, defense, or communication with his fellow beings.
Physical defect. Being armless, cripple, or a stutterer, whereby his means
to act, defend himself or communicate with his fellow beings are limited.
The
Code considers educated and uneducated deaf-mute or blind persons as being on
equal footing.
9. Such illness of the offender would
thus diminish the exercise of the willpower of the offender without however
depriving him of the unconsciousness of his acts.
Basis. Diminution of intelligence and
intent.
Requisites.
1.
That the illness of the offender must diminish the exercise of his willpower.
2.
That such illness should not deprive the offender of consciousness of his acts.
When the offender completely lost the exercise of willpower,
it may be an exempting circumstance.
Illness of the mind, which refers to the diseases of
pathological state that trouble the conscience and the will, and not amounting
to insanity, may give place to mitigation.
10. And,
finally, any other circumstances of a similar nature or analogous to those
above-mentioned.
Must be of similar nature and analogous to those mentioned
in paragraphs 1 to 9 in the Article 13.
60 years old with failing sight
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over 70 years of age (par. 2)
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Outraged feeling of owner of animal taken for ransom
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vindication of a grave offense
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Outraged feeling of creditor
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passion and obfuscation (par.
6)
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Impulse to jealous feeling
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passion and obfuscation
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Esprit de corps (mass psychology)
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passion and obfuscation
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Voluntary restitution of stolen property
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voluntary surrender (par 7)
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Extreme poverty and necessity(Art 11 par. 4)
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Incomplete justification (par 1 of Art 13)
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Testifying for the prosecution
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Plea to guilty
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Mitigating circumstances which are personal
to the offenders.
1.
From the moral attributes of the offender; or
2.
From his private relations with the offended party; or
3.
From any other personal cause, shall only serve to mitigate the liability of
the principals, accomplices, and accessories as to whom such circumstances are
attendant.
Circumstances which are neither
exempting nor mitigating:
1.
Mistake in the blow/aberratio ictus (Art 48, complex crime committed)
2.
Mistake in the identity of the victim (Art 29)
3.
Entrapment of the accused.
4.
The accused is over 18 years of age
5.
Performance of righteous action
