Opinion ID: 2637056
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Unreliability of sentence

Text: Citing the federal constitutional requirement of heightened reliability for death judgments (U.S. Const, 5th, 6th, 8th & 14th Amends.; Herrera v. Collins (1993) 506 U.S. 390, 405, 113 S.Ct. 853, 122 L.Ed.2d 203), defendant contends his sentence cannot stand because his trial was a travesty as a result of the trial court's decision to allow him, an assertedly mentally ill person, to defend himself. Defendant contends his failure, due to mental illness, to present adequate information about the circumstances of the crime or sufficient evidence in mitigation of penalty deprived the jury of a reliable basis for its sentencing decision. As we have concluded (see ante, at p. 24), defendant's exercise of the right to self-representation at trial did not render the judgment constitutionally unreliable.