In Pennsylvania death penalty cases, the Legislature created a statute outlining mitigating circumstances a jury shall consider when determining whether to impose a sentence of death or life.
There are (8) factors to be considered: defendant has no significant history of prior criminal convictions, the defendant was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance, the capacity of the defendant to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law was substantially impaired, the age of the defendant at the time of the crime, the defendant acted under extreme duress, although not such duress as to constitute a defense to prosecution or acted under the substantial domination of another person, the victim was a participant in the defendant’s homicidal conduct or consented to the homicidal facts, the defendant’s participation in the homicidal act was relatively minor, and any other evidence of mitigation concerning the character and record of the defendant and the circumstances of his offense.
