ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the basic policy question of whether the offender's remorse should mitigate the sentence to be imposed. It addresses the question of how a court, prior to sentencing, is to find that a criminal offender is remorseful. The chapter focuses on judicial fact-finding in relation to remorse prior to sentencing. It identifies the main types of facts that can be used as a basis for inferring the presence of remorse. The three main types of witnesses of remorse are then examined: offenders, lay witnesses and expert witnesses. The remorse-indicative facts in relation to criminal offenders distinguished by three general categories: demeanours that express or indicate remorse, verbal expressions of remorse, and actions expressing or motivated by remorse. Self-punishment can also take on a less principled and more masochistic dimension. An offender suffering from severe remorse might develop such self-hatred that he harms himself in some way or even commits suicide.
