Pyromania as a sentencing Mitigating factor

Pyromania is a rare impulse control disorder in which a person is unable to resist an overpowering urge to start fires.  It is so rare in fact that a clinician might never once diagnosis this disorder in their career.  
 
Recently I was retained on a case in which the charges were related to intentional fire setting.   The justice system generally looks at this offense as having criminal intent and in some cases that is true.  But in other cases, such as with my client, it is due to this mental health disorder.  The disorder of pyromania is not well understood and often not taken seriously.  I was asked to testify about my diagnosis and sentencing recommendations for these reasons.  Interestingly, pyromania disorder is very treatable, primarily through psychotherapy to address anxiety and other negative emotions while also improving social skills. 
 
The district attorney, offered the tired reasoning for her long prison recommendation as, "…everyone has stress…" basically denying the existence of mental illness. The judge, however, was very interested, asked me many questions and sentenced the client in such a way that he would be released from prison in less time than he would have served in jail. I call that making a difference!