Opinion ID: 2433485
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 28

Heading: Evidence about Nicklasson's Mother

Text: Nicklasson argues that he was precluded from presenting a wealth of information about his mother as mitigating evidence. The record reveals otherwise. The jury heard several witnesses testify about Nicklasson's mother's childhood injuries; her ridicule by classmates; her animosity toward her mother; her lying; her time in a mental hospital; her aggression; her physical attacks on her own mother and her husband; her intimate exploits; her happiness when her mother was dying; her filthy home; her abuse of Nicklasson, and other negative testimony. None of this evidence bore a direct relevance to Nicklasson's own character, previous criminal record, or the circumstances of the crime. Lockett, 438 U.S. at 604, n. 12, 98 S.Ct. at 2964-65, n. 12. The trial court did not err in refusing to admit additional, irrelevant evidence.