The York Research Database

The complex task of sentencing becomes even more challenging when the offender suffers from a mental disorder. When such individuals appear for sentencing the court must consider a wider range of circumstances affecting the offender's level of culpability. In addition, the priority of sentencing objectives may change, and certain disposals become more appropriate. A sentencing court has a duty to consider evidence of mental disorder placed before it, and must weigh the relevance and weight of this evidence. This report reviews the sociolegal literature addressing the sentencing of mentally disordered offenders.