This section covers a defendant committing a crime in order to avoid a perceived greater harm.

2010 FEDERAL SENTENCING GUIDELINES MANUAL

CHAPTER FIVE – DETERMINING THE SENTENCE

PART K – DEPARTURES

2. OTHER GROUNDS FOR DEPARTURE

§5K2.11. Lesser Harms (Policy Statement)

Sometimes, a defendant may commit a crime in order to avoid a perceived greater harm. In such instances, a reduced sentence may be appropriate, provided that the circumstances significantly diminish society’s interest in punishing the conduct, for example, in the case of a mercy killing. Where the interest in punishment or deterrence is not reduced, a reduction in sentence is not warranted. For example, providing defense secrets to a hostile power should receive no lesser punishment simply because the defendant believed that the government’s policies were misdirected.

In other instances, conduct may not cause or threaten the harm or evil sought to be prevented by the law proscribing the offense at issue. For example, where a war veteran possessed a machine gun or grenade as a trophy, or a school teacher possessed controlled substances for display in a drug education program, a reduced sentence might be warranted.

Historical Note: Effective November 1, 1987.

(EFFECTIVE November 1, 2010)

United States Sentencing Commission