'mitigating circumstance' is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
You can use it when you are discussing a certain situation that may lessen the negative consequences or reduce the severity of an offense. For example, "The judge took into account mitigating circumstances such as the defendant's lack of prior criminal history when deciding on a sentence."
In determining his punishment, the difference between a death sentence and one of life in prison hinged on the demonstration of what Texas law calls a "sufficient mitigating circumstance," such as a mental illness or impairment.
"The sole submission in this case is that the disorder suffered, and still suffered, by the applicant is a sufficient mitigating circumstance to justify a long finite term of years instead of a whole-life tariff".
When I saw the picture, the audience whooped with glee as Bateman, in mid-murder, discoursed eloquently on the significance of Huey Lewis and the News; it was as if musical taste this dire should be read as mitigating circumstance.... View Article Anthony Lane has been a film critic for The New Yorker since 1993.
Although police often resorted to abusive measures when they believed an unrepentant suspect was guilty, a voluntary confession viewed as sincere and truthful was still considered a noteworthy mitigating circumstance.
Particularly in a death penalty case such as this one, mistreatment of the defendants by the U.S. government would normally be considered a "mitigating circumstance" and therefore relevant to whether, if found guilty, they should be executed.
In that case, there was at least the mitigating circumstance that Khan was a Pakistani citizen and a national hero.
The president's supporters cite what they consider mitigating circumstances.
At that time, Sergeant Bales and his lawyers could present evidence of extenuating or mitigating circumstances, and Sergeant Bales would have an opportunity to testify, the judge said.
The public broadly endorses the penalty — by about sixty-five per cent in most polls — but many capital cases are beset by doubt, mitigating circumstances, or evidence of the condemned's remorse or redemption.
In the notes, the jurors said they were divided on whether lawyers for Mr. Hayes had proved certain mitigating circumstances concerning him that Connecticut law defines as an absolute barrier to a death sentence.
Timothy Smith, architecture course director at Kingston University, said there has been a rise in the number of students applying for "mitigating circumstances or extensions" in recent years, adding that the requirement for many to work part time means there is a "great deal of pressure" on them.
