Opinion ID: 2533183
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 16

Heading: Effect of Pitchford's death on his child

Text: ¶ 146. The defense attempted to solicit testimony from Dominique Hogan, the mother of Pitchford's two-year-old son, about the effect Pitchford's death would have on the child. The trial court sustained the State's objection to the evidence. ¶ 147. This Court has held that [e]vidence of a criminal defendant's death and the effect it would have on the life of his family is not relevant and is properly excluded since such evidence does not impact on the defendant's character, the record, or the circumstances of the crime. [89] Pitchford cites expansive language in Tennard v. Dretke [90] for the proposition that the exclusion of this testimony violated his rights under the Eighth Amendment. Tennard held [a] State cannot preclude the sentencer from considering `any relevant mitigating evidence' that the defendant proffers in support of a sentence less than death. [91] ¶ 148. However, as we held in Jordan, how the death of a defendant will impact others is simply not relevant as mitigating evidence, and nothing in Tennard contradicts this. This argument has no merit, and the trial judge committed no error by excluding this irrelevant testimony.