Opinion ID: 1196295
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Factor (k) Defendant's Character as Aggravating Circumstance; Mitigation Must Relate to Circumstances of Crime

Text: (46) In conjunction with his claim of misinstruction under People v. Easley, supra, 34 Cal.3d 858, defendant alleges the prosecutor compounded the problem by arguing that defendant's character could be considered a circumstance in aggravation and that circumstances in mitigation must relate only to the offense and not to the offender. (See People v. Boyd, supra, 38 Cal.3d at pp. 775-776.) This contention is not sustained by the record. First, the prosecutor did not misstate the law in defining a mitigating circumstance as reducing the moral culpability for that act in some fashion and in some way. (Italics added.) The very purpose of the penalty phase is to determine the appropriate sentence for the defendant's crime, i.e., an individualized assessment of the offender's moral culpability for his particular offense in light of statutorily and constitutionally relevant considerations. (See generally Woodson v. North Carolina (1976) 428 U.S. 280, 303-305 [49 L.Ed.2d 944, 960-962, 96 S.Ct. 2978].) When read in context, this statement also did not impliedly restrict mitigation to the circumstances of the crime. Second, at no time did the prosecutor suggest defendant's upbringing or other aspects of his background and character were irrelevant to the jury's assessment of whether he should receive the death penalty. (See also People v. Ainsworth (1988) 45 Cal.3d 984, 1033 [248 Cal. Rptr. 568, 755 P.2d 1017].) Rather, he argued that the brutality of the murders and defendant's cold-blooded execution of the victims outweighed any mitigatory significance. The prosecutor also did not erroneously imply that defendant's early home life and the negative influence of peer pressure should somehow be held against him. The thrust of this argument was that defendant had also had the countervailing benefit of a stable, secure environment provided by his great-grandmother as well as the concern of teachers who afforded guidance and sought to act as role models. A prosecutor does not mischaracterize such evidence by arguing it should not carry any extenuating weight when evaluated in a broader factual context. We have consistently declined to criticize advocacy of this nature. (See, e.g., People v. Hamilton (1989) 48 Cal.3d 1142, 1183 [259 Cal. Rptr. 701, 774 P.2d 730]; People v. Caro, supra, 46 Cal.3d at pp. 1062-1063; People v. Belmontes, supra, 45 Cal.3d at p. 807.)