Leniency for otherwise law-abiding citizens? Testing the lapse theory and sentencing in England and Wales

Abstract

Scholars have argued that otherwise law-abiding citizens who have “lapsed” and committed a crime deserve leniency. This is referred to as the lapse theory. The discussions, however, have mainly focused on the lack of previous criminal convictions. The purpose of this study is to expand on the lapse theory by testing the effects of other lapse-based factors besides criminal record on sentence outcomes. Drawing on sentencing decisions in England and Wales, lapse-based factors, namely the crime being an isolated incident, the defendant acting out of character, and first-time offenders, were found to have a mitigating effect on sentence outcomes on two types of offenses: assault and drug dealing. When culpability was controlled for, these factors still had a mitigating effect for defendants who had premeditated their assaults and drug dealers who were deemed to play a significant role. The implications for sentencing guidelines and future studies are also discussed.