FINAL BILL REPORT

SSB 5947

                              C 408 L 89

BYSenate Committee on Law & Justice (originally sponsored by Senators McMullen, Pullen, Niemi, Talmadge, Murray and Anderson)

Establishing a procedure for considering abuse suffered by a defendant as a mitigating circumstance for an exceptional sentence.

Senate Committee on Law & Justice

House Committe on Judiciary

SYNOPSIS AS ENACTED

BACKGROUND:

The Sentencing Reform Act established a list of mitigating factors which the court may consider in exercising its discretion to impose an exceptional sentence below the standard range.  Current factors include circumstances where the defendant:  was the aggressor; before detection attempted to compensate the victim; committed the crime under threat or compulsion; was induced by others to commit the crime; and had an impaired capacity to understand wrongfulness of the act.

It is suggested that the court be permitted to consider a pattern of abuse suffered by the defendant as a mitigating factor in imposing an exceptional sentence below the standard sentencing range.

SUMMARY:

The court may consider as a mitigating factor the fact that the defendant or the children of the defendant suffered a continuing pattern of physical or sexual abuse perpetrated by the victim of the offense, where the offense was a response to the abuse, and may impose an exceptional sentence below the standard range.

VOTES ON FINAL PASSAGE:

     Senate   45    0

     House 92  0(House amended)

     Senate   45    0 (Senate concurred)

EFFECTIVE:July 23, 1989