Mitigation Specialist defined.....
"a member of a criminal defense team who gathers detailed information about a defendant in order to persuade a jury not to impose the death penalty." Isn't that as clear as mud? So we are saying one person who is part of the criminal defense team has the power to gather enough detailed information to convince a jury not to impose the death peanlty...really? Then it is simple, get a mitigation specialist appointed and never worry about another client getting a sentence of death.
We could examine the definition of mitigation; "the act of mitigating, or lessening the force or intensity of something unpleasant, as wrath, pain, grief, or extreme circumstances." This helps clarify exactly what mitigation is how?
THE TRUTH
More years ago than I care to recall when this job was evolving the job was being performed by people like me who attended seminars, read and studied everything we could get our hands on or by pioneers like Jill Miller, a Forensic Social Worker and Lee Norton.
After reading, listening, watching and going through a few trials, I finally figured it out--a bunch of people got together and decided to give a name to something that was really simple. They they decided to find a bunch of folks to come talk to them about how to do it to confuse them even more and the result...so far so good!
So allow me to share with you my definition of a mitigation specialist; A PERSON WHO HAS THE ABILITY TO GET SOMEONE TO TELL THEM THE DEEPEST, DARKEST SECRETS AND PAINFUL EXPERIENCES THEY HAVE NEVER SHARED WITH ANYONE. A PERSON WHO TREATS WITH DIGNITY AND RESPECT THE CLIENT FROM THE PROJECTS OR THE CEO OF A FORTUNE 500 CORPORATION. A PERSON WHO IS JUST AS COMFORTABLE WITH BOTH.
A person who is tenacious enough to get every record out there that is possible to get because you just never know where information that could help your client could be hiding. Someone who is willing to go into the basement of an old school where the records are stored and go through every necessary box to find those records that might support intellectual disabilities.
A person who, using witnesses, records, video tapes, photos, can help you paint a picture of your client that will help the jury understand the client's journey from birth to the defense table where they sit today. At the end of the day, a mitigation specialist is a social historian and expert communicator. A mitigation specialist is insightful enough to talk to the client and almost instantly have an idea why they were where they are. A mitigation specialist is also the person who answers the most important question of the trial WHY? Because at the end of it all, that is really all anyone wants to know WHY did this terrible thing happen...WHY?