This study investigates whether the caring responsibilities of a defendant mother are treated as personal mitigation to reduce sentence length in England and Wales.
The peer-reviewed research uses a combination of textual analysis of secondary data (transcripts of Crown Court sentencing remarks) and interview data. The research found that there is inconsistency in the application of personal mitigation to sentencing due to the exercise of judicial discretion. Judges with a greater understanding of the impact of prison on women are more likely to order pre-sentence reports, and if a judge has a pre-sentence report the defendant's motherhood has a greater likelihood of mitigating the sentence.
For open access to the article see Mitigating Motherhood below:
