Opinion ID: 2613228
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 14

Heading: Ruling Denying Modification of Sentence

Text: After the jury returned its death verdict, defendant moved the court to modify the sentence to life imprisonment without parole. The court denied the motion, stating in part that defendant's purported mitigating background and character evidence did not extenuate the gravity of the crime, and that any sympathetic or other aspect of defendant's character could not in any way be considered a moral justification or extenuation for his conduct, or serve as a basis for a sentence of less than death. The court also found that there were no factors in mitigation, and that the absence of these factors weighs against a finding the offense is ... less serious than normal. (30) Defendant contends the court's foregoing remarks indicate it erroneously (1) believed defendant had introduced no mitigating evidence in the case, and (2) failed to consider defendant's proffered mitigating evidence in ruling on the motion to modify sentence. We disagree. The court carefully outlined its obligation to consider all the evidence submitted to the jury, and expressly acknowledged that defendant had introduced background evidence intended to mitigate the offense, including the fact he was raised in a poor and culturally deprived environment. But the court determined that such evidence failed to extenuate or mitigate the sentence. Read in context, the court's words merely reflect its view that no significant mitigating evidence had been adduced, and that such evidence was insufficient to extenuate defendant's crime or justify a life sentence. We have frequently rejected claims of error based on similar remarks by trial courts in denying motions to modify sentence. (See, e.g., People v. Stansbury (1992) 4 Cal.4th 1017, 1070-1071 [17 Cal. Rptr.2d 174, 846 P.2d 756]; People v. Daniels, supra, 52 Cal.3d at pp. 892-893; People v. Kaurish (1990) 52 Cal.3d 648, 716-718 [276 Cal. Rptr. 788, 802 P.2d 278]; People v. Whitt (1990) 51 Cal.3d 620, 659-660 [274 Cal. Rptr. 252, 798 P.2d 849].) The judgment is affirmed in its entirety.