Opinion ID: 1841753
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: what aggravating and mitigating circumstances will the jury weigh?

Text: In Alabama, the aggravating circumstances constitute an element of the capital offense and are required to be averred in the indictment (Code 1975, § 13-11-2), and must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Consequently, the jury verdict that the defendant was guilty of committing the capital offense would mean that the State had already established at least one aggravating circumstance, even though the legislature did not include an aggravating circumstance in § 13-11-6 to correspond with the aggravation made a part of each capital offense by § 13-11-2(a). In addition, the State would be permitted to offer evidence of any other aggravating circumstance contained in § 13-11-6, which was not averred in the indictment but which was proved beyond a reasonable doubt at trial or by the evidence taken at the sentencing hearing. The jury would weigh the one or more aggravating circumstances found to exist in the case in determining whether to impose the death penalty. At the sentencing hearing before the jury, the court must permit the defendant to introduce any matter relating to any mitigating circumstances including those enumerated in Code 1975, § 13-11-7. At the sentencing hearing, following the presentation of evidence of aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the prosecutor and defense counsel shall be given an opportunity to argue for and against respectively the imposition of the death penalty in the individual case. The court shall instruct the jury that in determining whether to fix a punishment of death, the jury must weigh the aggravating and mitigating circumstances in determining whether to fix the punishment at death. The trial court shall instruct the jury to avoid any influence of passion, prejudice or other arbitrary factor while deliberating and fixing the sentence. If the jury cannot agree on a sentence of death, the defendant shall be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. If the jury fixes the punishment at death, the court shall hold a hearing as mandated by § 13-11-3 and § 13-11-4.