Mitigating factor (United States)
Since 1972, the Supreme Court has tried to make capital punishment in the United States fairer and more consistent.  The Court has ruled that state laws cannot say a person must get the death penalty if they commit a certain crime, no matter what.  To be fair, the Court ruled, each judge or jury has to think about whether an individual defendant deserves the death penalty.  As Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun wrote in a 1994 case: