Opinion ID: 1119859
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Prejudicial Effect of the Errors

Text: (47) We have found that the rape conviction must be reduced to attempted rape, that the robbery charge and accompanying robbery-murder special circumstance must be reversed, and that two minor penalty phase errors were committed (prosecution argument that the absence of a mitigating factor is itself aggravating, and instruction that the Riverside County convictions were aggravating factors). Defendant contends that the cumulative effect of these errors requires reversal of the penalty judgment. We disagree. The jury properly considered all of the evidence. It was well aware of the circumstances under which the murders were committed. ( People v. Hayes, supra, 52 Cal.3d at p. 644.) If it believed defendant had intercourse with Houser after death, and thus erroneously convicted him of raping her instead of attempting to do so, it would not have given significant independent weight to that conviction as distinguished from the facts of the offense. Similarly, if the jury found defendant first intended to steal the rings after death, but nevertheless erroneously convicted him of robbery, it would not have given significant independent weight to that conviction or to the robbery special circumstance. The penalty phase errors were likewise insignificant. The court instructed the jury, and both counsel stressed, that it was not to merely count the number of factors but to give each the weight to which it was entitled. Under these circumstances, and given the number and heinous nature of the murders, we find no reasonable possibility the errors, singly or in combination, affected the penalty verdict. ( People v. Beardslee (1991) 53 Cal.3d 68, 117 [279 Cal. Rptr. 276, 806 P.2d 1311]; People v. Brown (1988) 46 Cal.3d 432, 448 [250 Cal. Rptr. 604, 758 P.2d 1135].) From our review of the record, we are persuaded that defendant received a fair and untainted penalty trial. The Constitution requires no more. ( Kelly I, supra, 51 Cal.3d at p. 970.)