Opinion ID: 1387354
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: A Member of the Victim's Family Supports Life Imprisonment

Text: Rita's sister submitted a statement to the court recommending life imprisonment because she did not want defendant's family to suffer the way her family had suffered after Rita's death. When a defendant is being sentenced for first degree murder, the sentencing court must consider any aspect of the defendant's character or record and any circumstance of the offense relevant to determining whether a sentence less than death might be appropriate. State v. McCall, 139 Ariz. 147, 162, 677 P.2d 920, 935 (1983), cert. denied, 467 U.S. 1220, 104 S.Ct. 2670, 81 L.Ed.2d 375 (1984). Rita's sister based her recommendation of a life sentence on her family's grief and on a concern for defendant's family. Her opinion was altogether unrelated to defendant, to his character, or to the circumstance of the offense. Thus, we do not find the sister's recommendation to be a relevant mitigating circumstance.