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Aggravated assault, for example, is usually differentiated from simple assault by the offender's intent (e.g., to murder or to rape), the extent of injury to the victim, or the use of a deadly weapon. An aggravating circumstance is a kind of attendant circumstance and the opposite of an extenuating or mitigating circumstance, which decreases guilt.
In law, attendant circumstances (sometimes external circumstances) are the facts surrounding an event. In criminal law in the United States , the definition of a given offense generally includes up to three kinds of "elements": the actus reus , or guilty conduct; the mens rea , or guilty mental state; and the attendant (sometimes "external ...
1 Examples. 2 By legal system. ... also known as an extenuating circumstance, ... The opposite of a mitigating factor is an aggravating factor.
Any term of years, but no more than 40 years (unless there are aggravating circumstances; only an option if defendant was a juvenile), or life without parole First Degree Murder 30–60 years (sentence can exceed 60 years if there are aggravating circumstances; only an option if defendant was a juvenile) or life without parole
All death row inmates are convicted of murder along with an aggravating circumstance, including kidnapping, sexual assault and arson. Some of the men have been convicted of committing particularly ...
The offender can possibly get a charge of aggravated first-degree murder if they commit first-degree murder and have an aggravating circumstance, for example if they kill a public safety official, such as a police officer, firefighter, or paramedic. In this case, the offender can receive the death penalty. [124]
The aggravating factors of first-degree murder depend on the jurisdiction, but may include a specific intent to kill, premeditation, or deliberation. In some, murders committed by acts such as strangulation , poisoning , or lying in wait are also treated as first-degree murder. [ 19 ]
In 11 others, proof of some culpable mental state was an element of capital murder. In 13 states, aggravating circumstances above and beyond the fact of the murder itself were required before imposing the death penalty. This left eight states—out of 36—allowed the death penalty for merely participating in a felony in which a murder was ...