A mitigation specialist is an expert qualified by knowledge, skill, experience, and training as a mental health and criminal justice system professional. The role of a mitigation specialist is to present mitigating circumstances and factors to all relevant stakeholders within the criminal justice system (prosecutors/probation officers/judges/jurors) to show that this particular individual’s case merits special consideration.
Our mitigation specialists/sentencing advocates conduct thorough biopsychosocial investigations into a client’s background to identify factors, such as trauma history and mental health concerns, that are catalysts for the crimes of which s/he is accused. When a criminal defendant faces a death sentence, we delve deep into his/her developmental history for presentation to relevant stakeholders in the criminal justice system to advocate for the defendant’s life. We also provide expert insight into criminal culpability, helping courts to understand a defendant’s mental health or developmental history as it relates to the criminal acts of which s/he is accused.
In non-death penalty cases, our sentencing proposals often focus on engaging in community-based, court-mandated treatment and services. These include mental health counseling, substance abuse and addictions counseling, trauma counseling, victim restitution, community supervision, mechanisms to avoid individual recidivism, and appropriately constructive consequences that provide a just outcome and that are carefully designed to elicit future positive behavior. This approach proposes individualized sentencing strategies to courts to utilize community-based programs that mete out justice without further overcrowding jails and prisons.
