Exemptions from Mandatory Minimum Penalties

This is the case, for example, in the State of Montana where the Code creates an exception to mandatory minimum 2012ulcc0032 Exemptions from Mandatory Minimum Penalties - 12 sentences for offenders who were less than 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the offence.21 In the States of Washington and Oregon, the exception to the application of mandatory minimum penalties applies explici. [...] If the court grants the motion, the sentencing judge is free to depart anywhere below the minimum recommended by the guidelines.34 The judge’s decision regarding the appropriate reduction may rest on such things as the significance and usefulness of the defendant’s assistance; the truthfulness, completeness, and reliability of the information provided; the nature, extent, and timeliness of the def. [...] In addition to being 18 at the time of committing the offence, the mitigating factors recognized by the law are: Mental capacity: “the offender's mental capacity, at the time of the commission of the offense for which the offender is to be sentenced, was significantly impaired, although not so impaired as to constitute a defense to the prosecution. [...] (3) When the court sentences the offender under subsection (2), the court must order that the offender serve the sentence without parole unless the court is satisfied that, given the circumstances of the offence and the offender, it would be manifestly unjust to make the order. [...] The minimum period of imprisonment must be the longer of: (a) the minimum period of imprisonment required to reflect the gravity of the offence; or, (b) the minimum period of imprisonment required for the purposes of the safety of the community in the light of the offender’s age and the risk posed by the offender to that safety at the time of sentencing.