§ 137.100 Defendant as witness in relation to circumstances

When a judge is deciding how harsh or lenient a sentence should be, the defendant has the choice to testify about the facts that might make the punishment more severe or less severe. This is completely optional. The defendant cannot be forced to take the stand for this purpose.

However, if the defendant decides to testify, they can't just answer questions on their own terms. Once they choose to speak, the prosecution gets to ask them questions too. This means the defendant opens themselves up to broader questioning from the other side, not just about the specific points they wanted to make.

In short, this rule gives defendants a choice about testifying regarding sentencing factors, but that choice comes with a trade-off. Speaking up means the prosecution can question them in return.