Mitigation and Aggravation at Sentencing (Cambridge Studies in Law and Society)

What makes one sentence heavier than another? This rigorously assembled volume addresses one of sentencing law's most consequential and underexamined questions: the role of mitigating and aggravating factors in shaping how severely courts punish offenders. Every sentencing system grants judges discretion to weigh circumstances that either soften or intensify a sentence, and many legislatures have placed specific factors on a statutory footing. Yet the theoretical underpinnings and real-world application of these adjustments remain deeply contested. This collection brings clarity to that complexity. Drawing on legal and sociological scholarship from leading academics across England and Wales, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, the volume covers both conceptual and empirical terrain. Andrew von Hirsch provides the foreword, followed by contributions addressing broad theoretical questions that arise at sentencing. Later empirical chapters include a detailed look at how personal mitigation functions in English courts. By comparing how common law jurisdictions approach these factors both in principle and in practice, the collection delivers a genuinely comparative perspective that will sharpen understanding at every level. It is essential reading for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers engaged in criminal justice and sentencing reform.