RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Trauma-Focused Mitigation Testimony in Capital Sentencing Hearings JF Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online JO J Am Acad Psychiatry Law FD American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law SP 39 OP 43 DO 10.29158/JAAPL.210090-21 VO 50 IS 1 A1 Julie Goldenson A1 Stanley L. Brodsky YR 2022 UL http://jaapl.org/content/50/1/39.abstract AB When capital trials of convicted defendants reach the sentencing phase, forensic mental health experts often testify as part of mitigation evidence. Three aspects of such testimony hold particular promise. First, developmental traumas in the lives of the defendants are especially well conceptualized in terms of complex posttraumatic stress disorder, as described in the ICD-11. Second, Cunningham’s framework, which critically examines the impact of harmful and protective factors over the course of a defendant’s development, allows for an examination of moral culpability apart from legal culpability. Third, specific training on trauma and its effects on personality and psychopathology allows forensic mental health professionals to more skillfully complete trauma mitigation evaluations.