In some criminal cases, the most important work is done after conviction. Sentencing reports provide judges with a well-rounded understanding of the client and can offer mitigating details that the prosecution may have dismissed. The reports often reveal the underlying reasons for the crime and present the client’s actions in the context of his or her life.

Sentencing reports typically derive from extensive interviews with the defendant’s family and friends, documents that establish the existence of childhood problems such as abuse or addiction, and background data from mental health experts.

PII prepares a detailed social history, which supplements educational, medical, and psychological records with anecdotal testimony from witnesses in different periods of the client’s life. This chronology can assist counsel in plea negotiations, or provide the background that drives the work of mental health professionals and other experts. In some cases, the issues uncovered in this investigation can even assist attorneys in the guilt-phase representations of their client by uncovering information relevant to questions such as mens rea, and the ability to pre-meditate a crime.

A 22-year-old African American man was convicted of identity theft as part of a criminal ring involving his family, and PII was retained by his attorney to prepare a sentencing report. PII’s investigator learned that the defendant had a low IQ and severe learning disabilities, raising questions about how much he actually understood about his family’s fraudulent activities. Prosecutors had discounted the seriousness of the defendant’s learning problems, citing the fact that he was enrolled in a college course for paramedics. PII tracked down the instructor of the paramedics course, who confirmed that while the defendant’s name appeared on the class roster, he had never attended any class sessions. In fact, the defendant had only signed up for the class because his probation officer advised him to keep busy. Ultimately, the defendant was sentenced to probation, a much lighter term than his more culpable co-defendants received.