Opinion ID: 2738560
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Denial of Motion for Probable Cause Finding

Text: that Aggravating Circumstances Existed The defendant next contends that the decision to charge a capital offense must be made by the grand jury and not the prosecutor. He further argues that the failure to allege any aggravating circumstances in the indictment violated his Fifth Amendment right to an indictment by grand jury. The Tennessee Supreme Court has, however, rejected this argument. See State v. Thomas, 158 S.W.3d 361, 406 (Tenn. 2005). The defendant is not, therefore, entitled to relief on the basis of this issue. XV. Denial of Motion for Disclosure of Information Regarding Proportionality Review The defendant next contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion for disclosure of information regarding proportionality review so that he may challenge the constitutionality of comparative proportionality review. Our supreme court has, however, rejected other similar challenges to the meaningfulness of comparative proportionality review. See, e.g., State v. Bland, 958 S.W.2d 651, 663 (Tenn. 1997); State v. Brimmer, 876 S.W.2d 75, 87 (Tenn. 1994). Moreover, as fully discussed below, we conclude that the defendant’s death sentences are proportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases. This issue is, therefore, without merit.