MITIGATING AND AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCES IN BOLIVIAN CRIMINAL LAW

SENTENCE REDUCTION IN BOLIVIA THROUGH SPECIAL MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES

Special mitigating circumstances are explicitly established by the Penal Code and apply when the law specifically provides for them. In such cases, the judge may reduce the sentence by up to half of the maximum penalty, always within the legal limits.

For instance, if the law imposes a thirty-year prison sentence for a particularly serious crime, a special mitigating factor may reduce it to fifteen years. Similarly, if the offense carries a minimum sentence of more than one year in prison, the penalty may be reduced to the lower limit of the applicable sentencing scale.

This type of sentence reduction applies in situations where lawmakers have chosen to recognize an exceptional decrease in the offender’s culpability, whether for social, personal, or contextual reasons.

GENERAL MITIGATING FACTORS: HUMANITARIAN CONSIDERATIONS

General mitigating circumstances give judges broader discretion, allowing them to adjust the sentence based on the offender’s personal situation and the nature of the crime.

Key factors include:

• Honorable motive or extreme poverty: When the offender acted under severe necessity or morally understandable reasons.
• Influence of illness or threats: If the act was committed under coercion or significant psychological pressure.
• Remorse and reparations: When the offender shows genuine remorse and makes efforts, even partial, to repair the damage caused.
• Indigenous status and lack of education: The law recognizes that genuine ignorance of the law, particularly in vulnerable sociocultural contexts, can reduce responsibility.

These circumstances do not exempt an individual from responsibility, but they reflect a humanistic approach within Bolivian criminal law—one that aims to sanction while preserving the offender’s dignity and potential for reintegration into society.

GENERAL AGGRAVATING FACTORS IN BOLIVIA: SENTENCE INCREASES

Just as the law provides for mitigating circumstances, it also establishes general aggravating factors that increase penalties when the offense reveals a particularly antisocial intent.

A notable example is crimes committed for racist or discriminatory motives, which lead to an increase of one-third in the minimum sentence and one-half in the maximum.

This harsher sentencing reflects Bolivia’s constitutional principles of equality and non-discrimination, affirming that acts driven by racial or social hatred are incompatible with the nation’s legal framework.

However, even in these cases, the penalty cannot exceed the constitutional maximum, thereby safeguarding the fundamental rights of the convicted individual.

LEGAL FUNCTION OF MITIGATING AND AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCES IN BOLIVIA

Mitigating and aggravating circumstances play a critical role in the criminal justice system by ensuring the State’s response is both proportional and fair.

When applying these factors, judges evaluate not only the legality of the offense but also its morality, context, and consequences. This balance is where true criminal justice lies—sanctioning in proportion to the offender’s actions and circumstances.

In summary, mitigating and aggravating factors in Bolivian criminal law enable sentences to reflect the unique reality of each case. Justice is not about imposing uniform punishment, but about aligning sentencing with culpability, motivations, and the constitutional values of equality and humanity that guide the criminal system.