Opinion ID: 1889733
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: The Organization of Cases by Categories

Text: Judge Baime makes several recommendations for improvement to the salient-factors test. With the exception of a recommendation concerning the incorporation of mitigating factors, we adopt his recommendations. He finds that the organization of the cases by statutory aggravating factors makes good sense, but recommends generally that the subcategories be dissolved. Baime Report, supra, at 56. After reviewing 433 death-eligible cases, Judge Baime, John McCarthy and Joseph Barraco found that the subcategories have little relevance as predictors of sentencing outcomes. Id. at 56-57. By way of example, Judge Baime notes that the prior murder conviction category contains three subcategories based on the number of aggravating factors present. Id. at 57. He found, however, that death-sentencing rates in cases with two or more aggravating factors were lower than for those cases with one aggravating factor. Ibid. This finding and others made him conclude that the subcategories did not have any effect on deathworthiness. Ibid. Judge Baime recommends retention of a few discrete subcategories. First, he would leave the subcategory denominated as with particular violence or terror in the sexual assault classification because defendants so classified seem to be viewed by prosecutors and juries as particularly deathworthy. Id. at 58. He recommends that strict guidelines be developed to avoid the inherent subjectivity in defining this subcategory, and specifically suggests that the subcategory include multiple stabbings, gunshot wounds and mutilations, as well as cases involving children. Id. at 58-59. Judge Baime recommends that the robbery category be subdivided into residential, business and other, eliminating the numerous categories that currently exist. Id. at 59. The creation of the three categories is presumably an attempt to reduce the large number of cases in the robbery-murder category for purposes of review. Finally, Judge Baime would retain subcategories in the multiple victims category. Id. at 59. He believes that because many of those cases involve intrafamily and rage killings, and prosecutors have not ordinarily capitally prosecuted such cases, those cases should be distinguished. Ibid. In addition, he notes that cases involving drug transactions between the victim and the defendant have rarely resulted in capital prosecutions and death sentences. Ibid. With the exception of those instances, Judge Baime observes that defendants who kill multiple victims in the course of the commission of another crime are viewed as particularly deathworthy. Id. at 59-60. He therefore recommends breaking the category into two subcategories aggravated and non-aggravated cases. Id. at 60. He would denote multiple killings in the course of other felonies as aggravated, excluding multiple killings in the course of drug crimes and intrafamily and rage killings. Id. at 59-60.