Below I will discuss the relevant circumstances in the case of the defendants. Section 40K(4) states that in this regard, it is possible to take into account, inter alia, "the defendant's assumption of responsibility for his actions, and his return to justice or his efforts to recover."
6.1. Acknowledgment and Assumption of Responsibility
Counsel for the accuser insisted on the importance of the confession, mainly because it constitutes taking responsibility for the defendants' actions, especially when the officers, the main organs whose actions are attributed to the defendants, have denied what is attributed to them and their trial is still ongoing. The case law recognized the element of "taking responsibility" as an element that justifies providing significant mitigation at the penalty stage. The main weight of the confession lies in the expression of remorse that it embodis, in the internalization of the wrongfulness in the acts, and in bowing the head (see, in this regard, Itay Lifshitz and Rinat Kitay Sanjaro, "The Proper Place of Remorse in Criminal Punishment," Mishpat Studies 69, 89-90 (2012). This was discussed by the Supreme Court in the Metzger case, where the Honorable Justice A. Vogelman ruled (in paragraph 23 of his judgment):
"The assumption of responsibility for a defendant's actions and the expression of remorse have been recognized over the years in our case law as a consideration in sentencing him... The same is true in the early case of a certain person, where it was expressly determined that before deciding whether to accept or reject a plea bargain, it must take into account "the public interest in obtaining the defendant's confession and accepting responsibility for his actions" (ibid., at p. 609), and to include this consideration in the enumeration of its considerations in the framework of the balancing test."
Kenneth Mann, in his article: "Administrative Criminal Procedure: Plea Bargains, False Convictions of Defendants, and Judicial Oversight" in: In: Justice Trial? Criminal Procedure in Israel – Failures and Challenges, 217 (hereinafter: Mann, Criminal-Administrative Procedure), deals at length with the question of confession as taking responsibility and as a circumstance that must be taken into account in favor of the defendant in sentencing him. On page 243, the author notes that the court's approach (which underlies the approach regarding plea bargains (discussed below in chapter 8) is that: "An admission of guilt contributes to or reflects partial or full rehabilitation of the accused, reduces the risk that the defendant will commit an offense in the future, and strengthens social solidarity (see also p. 260 of his article, and the references in note 90).