South Carolina Mitigating Factors are those that can reduce the amount of punishment that a criminal defendant may receive. These include voluntary acceptance of responsibility, cooperation with law enforcement, mental illness or addiction, significant age difference, showing remorse, and lack of a prior criminal record. Some of the most commonly used mitigating factors in South Carolina are the defendant’s lack of a prior criminal record, voluntary acceptance of responsibility, cooperation with law enforcement, mental illness or addiction, and showing remorse. Depending on the severity of the offense, a judge may choose to reduce the sentence based on these factors. Other types of mitigating factors that can be taken into consideration are the age of the offender, the degree of planning involved, the defendant’s level of intoxication or impairment, and the presence of any extenuating or mitigating circumstances.