Opinion ID: 1152888
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Whether the Aggravating Factors, Weighed Against the Mitigating Factors, Support Imposing the Death Penalty.

Text: This court independently determines whether aggravating or mitigating circumstances exist and reweighs them to determine if a death sentence is appropriate. A.R.S. § 13-703.01.
Defendant's death sentence was based upon two aggravating factors: especially cruel, A.R.S. § 13-703(F)(6), and victim under the age of fifteen, A.R.S. § 13-703(F)(9).
The trial court found the murder was especially cruel within the meaning of A.R.S. § 13-703(F)(6). A murder is especially cruel when the murderer inflicts mental or physical pain upon a conscious victim before death. State v. Greenway, 170 Ariz. 155, 165, 823 P.2d 22, 32 (1991). When the suffering is experienced after the infliction of a fatal wound, that suffering must have been objectively foreseeable to support a finding of cruelty. Bolton, 182 Ariz. at 311, 896 P.2d at 851. The defendant's subjective intent to cause suffering is irrelevant. Id. at 312, 896 P.2d at 852. Here, the evidence establishes that Rachel suffered from physical pain for many hours after she was assaulted. She was crying and vomiting and had bruises on her face, fingers, and hands. The emergency room physician testified that the blow to Rachel's bowel would have caused great pain initially and would have continued to cause pain to a lesser extent thereafter. Rachel also experienced pain from her genital injuries. The defensive wounds on her body show that she was conscious during her beating. See State v. (George Molina) Lopez, 174 Ariz. 131, 143-44, 847 P.2d 1078, 1090-91 (1992) (finding cruelty when a one-year-old victim died of blunt-force trauma to the head, abdomen, and chest; doctor testified that the victim must have suffered for about 45 minutes from the injuries). Defendant knew how severely he had beaten Rachel. Her body showed signs of being struck dozens of times by fists, elbows, and perhaps blunt instruments. Rachel was physically sick for the rest of the evening. Additionally, defendant told others that he had taken Rachel to the paramedics even though he had not, which may have prevented others from seeking medical help for her. He deliberately extended her suffering by not taking her to the hospital and by misleading others who might have. It is beyond question that Rachel suffered especial cruelty within the meaning of section 13-703(F)(6) during her terrifying last day of life.
The trial court found the aggravating factor of A.R.S. § 13-703(F)(9), which applies when the defendant is an adult and the victim is a person under the age of fifteen. Defendant was an adult and Rachel was four years old. The (F)(9) factor is satisfied.
The defendant must establish mitigating factors by a preponderance of the evidence. State v. McMurtrey, 143 Ariz. 71, 73, 691 P.2d 1099, 1101 (1984). Defendant presented evidence attempting to prove that drug abuse, a dysfunctional family, and Angela Gray's responsibility to care for her daughter were mitigating factors. We will discuss each of these factors.
Defendant argues that he produced sufficient evidence of drug addiction and intoxication for the court to find a mitigating circumstance. Voluntary intoxication may be a mitigating factor if the defendant proves by a preponderance of the evidence that his capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law was significantly impaired, but not so impaired as to constitute a defense to prosecution. A.R.S. § 13-703(G)(1); see also State v. Stokley, 182 Ariz. 505, 520, 898 P.2d 454, 469 (1995), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 116 S.Ct. 787, 133 L.Ed.2d 737 (1996). However, [n]ot being able to `think clearly in reality' ... is not coextensive with not having the capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of one's conduct. State v. Atwood, 171 Ariz. 576, 651, 832 P.2d 593, 668 (1992). An expert testified that defendant began using drugs when he was a teen and was a heavy user of methamphetamine at the time of the murder. The evidence of defendant's drug use at the time of the murder was self-reported; however, expert testimony corroborated defendant's testimony. The defense expert stated that methamphetamine users tend to stay awake for several days and then crash for several days at a time. Additionally, defendant's sister-in-law and girlfriend testified that defendant consumed methamphetamine on Saturday, the day before the incident. However, no testimony establishes, either because of his use of drugs or because he was coming down off of the drugs, that defendant could not appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or conform his conduct to the law. All of the people who testified for defendant claimed that they had never seen defendant hurt anyone, when he was on or off of drugs. The trial court properly concluded that not enough evidence had been produced to show that defendant was impaired by methamphetamine use to constitute statutory or non-statutory mitigation.
A dysfunctional family is a mitigating circumstance only if the defendant can show that something in [his] background had an effect or impact on his behavior that was beyond his control. Bolton, 182 Ariz. at 314, 896 P.2d at 854. Defendant's mother testified at the aggravation-mitigation hearing regarding his childhood, including the fact that she taught him right from wrong. Although defendant did not have a perfect childhood, no evidence exists of a dysfunctional childhood that would affect his reasoning and conduct at the time of this incident.
Defendant argues that the court should have found a non-statutory mitigating factor to be that Angela Gray was largely responsible for Rachel's suffering. Defendant claims that Gray's lack of action by not taking her child to the hospital should be considered an intervening factor, so that defendant should not be solely responsible for Rachel's death. We have previously discussed this argument in our Enmund-Tison discussion. See Sentencing Issues, Pt. II. The trial court did not specifically address Gray's involvement as a non-statutory mitigating circumstance. However, the trial court indicated that it had considered all of the mitigating evidence presented by defendant and found it insufficient to call for leniency. Defendant's attempt to transfer responsibility for Rachel's death to Gray is meritless. Defendant was with Rachel the balance of the evening after he inflicted the assault upon her. He knew better than anyone else the suffering she was experiencing. He told people, in Gray's presence, that he had taken Rachel to see the paramedics and that they had said she was fine. Not only did he not take Rachel to the hospital when he knew how much she was suffering, he also effectively dissuaded others from taking her to the hospital by telling them that he had taken her to the paramedics. Even though Rachel was not his biological child, he had a duty to take her to the hospital after he inflicted the injuries upon her.