Frequently Asked Questions:
Title: Does committing a crime while intoxicated lead to a sentence reduction according to sentencing guidelines?
Date Posted: August 10, 2023
● Article 10, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Act stipulates that "the sentence may be reduced for acts committed by a person with diminished mental or physical capacity to discern matters or make decisions due to mental disorder." Accordingly, the sentencing guidelines designate "mental incapacity" as a mitigating factor.
● However, to prevent the abuse of the "mental incapacity" mitigating factor, the sentencing guidelines also include the following descriptive criteria (for specific details, please refer to the sentencing guidelines for individual crime categories).
In cases where a crime (OO crime) is committed in a state of intoxication due to alcohol or drugs, the following distinctions apply:
(1) Intentional Intoxication for Crime or Exemption: If the defendant voluntarily becomes intoxicated through alcohol or drugs with the intent to commit the crime, foresee its execution, or use intoxication as an excuse for exemption, the state of intoxication is considered a general aggravating factor, regardless of whether the defendant was in a state of mental incapacity at the time of the crime.
(2) Unintentional but Foreseeable Harm: If there was no intent to commit the crime and the defendant did not foresee its execution, but, based on past experiences, physical condition, or circumstances at the time, there was a likelihood (potential) of causing harm to others due to intoxication from alcohol or drugs, the state of intoxication is not considered a mitigating factor, regardless of whether the defendant was in a state of mental incapacity at the time of the crime.
(3) No Mental Incapacity: Even if neither (1) nor (2) applies, if the defendant was not in a state of mental incapacity at the time of the crime, the state of intoxication is not considered a mitigating factor.
● In other words, committing a crime in a state of intoxication due to alcohol or drugs does not automatically result in a sentence reduction based on mental incapacity, and in some cases, it may even lead to a harsher sentence.