What are aggravating circumstances?

When considering a criminal case, any detail can play a decisive role, and sometimes the penalty may both decrease and increase. Accordingly, there are so-called aggravating circumstances and circumstances that mitigate punishment. Next, we will talk in more detail about the circumstances aggravating the guilt of the defendant.

So, what are aggravating circumstances? In the law, such circumstances are objective, as well as subjective, signs of the defendant's and his person's actions, which, one way or another, go beyond the scope of the crime. In the 63 st. The UKRF identifies such circumstances, aggravating punishment, as:

• Relapse or repeated commission of the defendant offenses. Sometimes such circumstances are recognized as a canceled or canceled conviction. Most often, relapse occurs because of an ineffective punishment for the first offense;
• The onset of severe consequences that go beyond the scope of the offense also falls into the category of "aggravating circumstances";
• Participation in a crime committed by a group of persons in a crime committed by prior conspiracy and the organization of criminal groups also aggravate the defendant's guilt. Group crimes are much more dangerous, as a group of persons actively promote each other, uniting their forces to commit an offense.

From this point, there are other circumstances aggravating criminal liability. This is primarily an active participation in the commission of a crime. In this case, "active participation" means a particularly important contribution to the commission of an offense. As a rule, this is typical for the organizer of the group, for some performers and instigators.
The following aggravating circumstances also stand out:

• Involvement of minors and children who have not reached partial capacity, and therefore incapable of bearing criminal responsibility; Involvement in the commission of a crime of people with mental disorders and people in a state of intoxication. In this case, the fact of intoxication and mental illness should be known in advance to the guilty;
• The commission of a crime to conceal the traces of an act committed earlier, or to ease the punishment for it. In this case, this circumstance is considered to be aggravating, since two independent encroachments are carried out in fact;
• The commission of a crime based on revenge, racial or religious intolerance is also considered an aggravating circumstance, as it violates the equality of rights proclaimed by the Constitution;
• The implementation of a crime against a pregnant woman. At the same time, the fact of pregnancy should be known to the guilty in advance. It also aggravates the crime of committing a crime against a minor or an elderly person, since in this case the victim can not protect himself and his interests;
• A crime against a person who is dependent on the guilty or is in a helpless condition. The special danger of this crime is that such an act shows the highest degree of moral fall of an individual.