Opinion ID: 1155448
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Instruction on Any Other Mitigating Circumstances

Text: The jury was instructed on mitigating circumstances in Jury Instruction No. 8, which provides in relevant part: Murder of the First Degree may be mitigated by any of the following circumstances, even though the mitigating circumstance is not sufficient to constitute a defense or reduce the degree of the crime; . . . . 8. Any other mitigating circumstances. Powell takes exception with the phrase any other mitigating circumstances. Powell argues that this catch-all language fails to provide the jury with specific guidelines for considering mitigating evidence of his background and character. This court considered the exact same argument in Flanagan v. State, 107 Nev. 243, 810 P.2d 759 (1991), vacated on other grounds, ___ U.S. ___, 112 S.Ct. 1464, 117 L.Ed.2d (1992). There, this court stated: [A] reasonable juror would conclude that mitigation was not restricted to crime-related factors because it was stated that the mitigating circumstances did not have to constitute a defense or reduce the degree of the crime. Furthermore, the jury in fact found two of the three mitigating circumstances to exist. In addition, the instruction as a whole adequately informed the jury of its right and duty to consider mitigating evidence. Finally, it is highly unlikely that a different outcome would have resulted from more specific instructions, given that the evidence of aggravating circumstances was overwhelming and clearly outweighed the mitigating circumstances found by the jury. Thus, we conclude that Instruction 8 did not violate the Eighth Amendment by impermissibly limiting the jury's consideration of mitigation to evidence related to the crime. Id. at 249, 810 P.2d at 762-63. (Emphasis in original.) Here, the jury was similarly instructed that it could find a mitigating circumstance even though that circumstance was not sufficient to constitute a defense or reduce the degree of the crime. The jury also found four aggravating circumstances and no mitigating circumstances; the aggravating circumstances obviously outweighed the mitigating circumstances. In light of Flanagan, Powell's argument is without merit.