Capital Mitigation Specialist
Rebecca Dixon has worked as a mitigation specialist for almost thirty years. People typically think of a mitigation specialist in reference to capital cases. However, a mitigation specialist also works on non-capital cases. For those facing legal challenges, especially in non-capital cases, the expertise of a mitigation specialist can prove to be invaluable and have a profound impact on the outcome. Whether a capital or non-capital case, a certified mitigation specialist can make the difference between a favorable or a non-favorable verdict.
Forty years of experience and training through the New Hampshire Public Defender’s Office, the National Association of Legal Aid & Defender Association and the National Alliance of Sentencing Advocates and Mitigation Specialists has helped Rebecca to develop proficiency and expertise in the following areas:
Eliciting sensitive and often times humiliating and embarrassing evidence (e.g., family sexual abuse) which the defendant may have never previously disclosed to anyone
Documenting a comprehensive psycho-social history of a client
Analyzing information in terms of impact including the effects on a client’s personality and behavior
Developing mitigating themes based on the client’s life history
Identifying the need for expert assistance
Rebecca Dixon
Working on capital cases in New Hampshire and Florida has also given Rebecca the opportunity to hone the following skills:
Recognizing congenital, mental or neurological conditions
Understanding how these conditions may have affected the defendant’s development and behavior
Supporting a client’s need in obtaining therapeutic services
Testifying on her client’s behalf
Having a qualified mitigation specialist assigned to every capital case is an integral part of the defense team
Capital mitigation specialists provide expert insight into criminal culpability, helping courts to understand a defendant’s mental health and/or developmental disorders in capital and noncapital cases. These specialists speak for the dignity and value of those who have committed even the worst criminal acts. As an indispensable member of the defense team throughout all the legal proceedings, capital mitigation specialists possess clinical and information-gathering skills and training that most lawyers simply do not have.