Opinion ID: 3134725
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Aggravating and Mitigating Evidence

Text: Defendant argues that his death sentence must be vacated because the evidence presented at the second stage of sentencing demonstrates that death is an excessive sentence in his case. With respect to the State’s evidence in aggravation, defendant asserts that the evidence indicates that, rather than a premeditated attack, the crimes were unplanned and the result of an isolated, explosive incident. In addition, defendant contends that his criminal record is 20 years old and that the acts that formed the basis for this record were not the acts of a calculating criminal. Defendant claims that, while the aggravating evidence was limited, weak, and remote, the evidence in mitigation was extensive, strong, and fresh. He argues that, despite his troubled childhood, his record in prison is “exemplary,” and he has developed positive and enduring relationships through correspondence and his interaction with prison staff members. In light of this mitigating evidence, defendant contends that his death sentence should be reversed and his cause remanded for the imposition of a sentence other than death. Alternatively, defendant claims that the jury’s decision at the second stage of sentencing is contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence and that he must, therefore, receive a new sentencing hearing. In determining whether a sentence of death is appropriate, we must consider the character and record of the defendant. People v. Ward , 154 Ill. 2d 272, 340 (1992). “[E]ach capital case is unique and must be evaluated on its own facts, focusing on whether the circumstances of the crime and the character of the defendant are such that the deterrent and retributive functions of the ultimate sanction will be served by imposing the death penalty.” People v. Johnson , 128 Ill. 2d 253, 280 (1989). The propriety of a death sentence in a particular case depends on a balance between aggravating and mitigating factors, and the existence of one or more mitigating factors does not require a sentence other than death. People v. Johnson , 149 Ill. 2d 118, 150 (1992). Our review of defendant’s death sentence requires us to make a separate evaluation of the record. Ward , 154 Ill. 2d at 340-41. However, “the decision of a capital sentencing jury will not be overturned lightly, particularly where that decision is amply supported by the record.” People v. Hooper , 172 Ill. 2d 64, 77 (1996); see also People v. Jones , 156 Ill. 2d 225, 256 (1993). In this case, we find that the record amply supports the jury’s conclusion that the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors. The evidence in aggravation included the brutal and senseless nature of defendant’s murder of Byrd and attempted murder of Ray. There was no indication that either Byrd or Ray resisted defendant and his brother’s robbery of Ray’s lounge and apartment. In fact, defendant had tied them with electrical cord and made them lie face down on the floor of the apartment while Jackson pointed a gun at them. While they were in this helpless position, defendant stabbed Ray twice in the chest, and, after ignoring Ray’s pleas to not harm Byrd, also stabbed her. Apparently believing that these steps to subdue Ray and Byrd were insufficient, defendant lit a fire in Ray’s bedroom and left Ray and Byrd to die in the burning room after securing the doorknob to prevent them from escaping the fire. Defendant suggests that these events were spontaneous, but the evidence that defendant waited until Ray closed the bar to visit, that defendant had a history of committing armed robberies of businesses at closing time, and that defendant brought a gun with him when he visited Ray indicates advance planning. In addition, there was evidence that defendant’s crimes against Ray and Byrd were the culmination of a criminal record that began when defendant was a juvenile. This record showed that, shortly after he was released from a juvenile correctional facility or prison, defendant would engage in criminal activity. Indeed, Byrd’s murder occurred less than one month after defendant was released from prison for another offense. His crimes progressed from minor offenses as a juvenile to violent offenses as a young adult. Defendant attempts to minimize the seriousness of these offenses, but we observe that his criminal record includes several armed robberies, and Byrd’s murder illustrates the potential for violence associated with this type of crime. In mitigation, defendant relies in part on his troubled childhood, low-IQ, and learning disability. In other cases, however, we have held that a jury may find that evidence of a defendant’s troubled childhood or developmental problems is not inherently mitigating and may be considered aggravating because it suggests future dangerousness. See Madej , 177 Ill. 2d at 140; People v. Sanchez , 169 Ill. 2d 472, 491-92 (1996). The majority of defendant’s mitigating evidence concerns his good behavior since his incarceration in 1980. We have previously found in other cases, however, that a defendant’s good behavior in prison was insufficient to offset the aggravating evidence against the defendant. See Madej , 177 Ill. 2d at 140; People v. Garcia , 165 Ill. 2d 409, 437 (1995). While defendant’s conduct in prison is commendable, we do not find that it outweighs the aggravating evidence in this case. There was evidence that, when defendant was incarcerated prior to the armed robberies he committed in the seventies and his crimes against Ray and Byrd, defendant’s adjustment to imprisonment was positive and his behavior in correctional facilities was good. We cannot conclude, therefore, that defendant’s most recent good behavior necessarily indicates a transformation in his character. See People v. Turner , 156 Ill. 2d 354, 361 (1993), quoting Skipper v. South Carolina , 476 U.S. 1, 14-15, 90 L. Ed. 2d 1, 13, 106 S. Ct. 1669, 1676 (1986) (Powell, J., concurring, joined by Burger, C.J., and Rehnquist, J.) (“ ‘[O]ne arrested for a capital crime, and particularly a convicted defendant awaiting sentencing, has every incentive to behave flawlessly in prison if good behavior might cause the sentencing authority to spare his life. Good behavior in those circumstances would rarely be predictive as to the conduct of the prisoner after sentence has been imposed’ ” (emphasis in original)). In addition, there were significant conflicts in the evidence regarding defendant’s character. For example, Miller testified that defendant had a learning disability, was borderline mentally retarded, and never functioned above a fourth-grade level. By contrast, defendant’s wife testified that she and defendant had communications involving her interests in philosophy and mathematics, and other individuals with whom defendant corresponded described him as articulate, well-read, and above-average intelligence. Furthermore, the evidence that, after his incarceration, defendant was kind, considerate, polite, and responsible appears inconsistent with the evidence of his violent and extensive criminal record. Given these discrepancies, the jury at sentencing could have reasonably concluded that defendant’s behavior in prison was not an accurate indication of his character. In light of the aggravating evidence and our review of the record, we cannot conclude that the death penalty was an excessive sentence in this case. Having determined that there is ample support in the record for the jury’s verdict at the aggravation-mitigation stage of sentencing, we decline to consider defendant’s alternative argument that he must receive a new sentencing hearing because the jury’s decision to impose the death penalty was against the manifest weight of the evidence. Defendant has failed to cite any authority for the application of this standard to our review of the jury’s verdict at the second stage of sentencing. See 177 Ill. 2d R. 341(e)(7); Madej , 177 Ill. 2d at 162; see also Shaw , 186 Ill. 2d at 342-44.