Opinion ID: 867440
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 16

Heading: constitutional claims raised to prevent federal preclusion

Text: ¶ 58 1. The prosecutor's discretion to seek the death penalty has no standards and therefore violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article 2, Sections 1, 4, and 15 of the Arizona Constitution. Rejected by State v. Sansing, 200 Ariz. 347, 361, ¶ 46, 26 P.3d 1118, 1132 (2001), vacated on other grounds, Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed.2d 556 (2002); State v. Rossi, 146 Ariz. 359, 366, 706 P.2d 371, 378 (1985). ¶ 59 2. Arizona's death penalty applies discriminatorily against poor, young, and male defendants, in violation of Article 2, Sections 1, 4, and 13 of the Arizona Constitution. Rejected by Sansing, 200 Ariz. at 361, ¶ 46, 26 P.3d at 1132. ¶ 60 3. The death penalty is cruel and unusual under any circumstance and violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article 2, Section 15 of the Arizona Constitution. Rejected by State v. Harrod, 200 Ariz. 309, 320, ¶ 59, 26 P.3d 492, 503 (2001). ¶ 61 4. The absence of proportionality review of death sentences by Arizona courts denies capital defendants due process of law and equal protection and amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article 2, Section 15 of the Arizona Constitution. Rejected by Harrod, 200 Ariz. at 320, ¶ 65, 26 P.3d at 503; State v. Salazar, 173 Ariz. 399, 416, 844 P.2d 566, 583 (1992). ¶ 62 5. Arizona's capital sentencing scheme is unconstitutional because it does not require that the State prove the death penalty is appropriate, in violation of the Fifth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article 2, Section 15 of the Arizona Constitution. Rejected by State v. Ring, 200 Ariz. 267, 284, ¶ 64, 25 P.3d 1139, 1156 (2001), rev'd on other grounds, Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed.2d 556 (2002). ¶ 63 6. The death penalty is cruel and unusual because it is irrationally and arbitrarily imposed and serves no purpose that is not adequately addressed by life in prison, in violation of the defendant's right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 2, Sections 1 and 4 of the Arizona Constitution. Rejected by State v. Pandeli, 200 Ariz. 365, 382, ¶ 88, 26 P.3d 1136, 1153 (2001), vacated on other grounds, Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed.2d 556 (2002); State v. Beaty, 158 Ariz. 232, 247, 762 P.2d 519, 534 (1988). ¶ 64 7. Arizona's death penalty scheme does not provide a defendant convicted of a capital crime the opportunity to death-qualify the sentencing judge, in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article 2, Section 15 of the Arizona Constitution. Rejected by Pandeli, 200 Ariz. at 382, ¶ 89, 26 P.3d at 1153. ¶ 65 8. A.R.S. § 13-703 provides no objective standards to guide the jurors in weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances and therefore violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article 2, Section 15 of the Arizona Constitution. Rejected by Pandeli, 200 Ariz. at 382, ¶ 90, 26 P.3d at 1153. ¶ 66 9. A.R.S. § 13-703 does not sufficiently channel the sentencing jurors' discretion because the broad scope of Arizona's aggravating factors encompasses nearly anyone involved in a murder, violating the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article 2, Section 15 of the Arizona Constitution. Rejected by Pandeli, 200 Ariz. at 382, ¶ 90, 26 P.3d at 1153. ¶ 67 10. Execution by lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment. Rejected by State v. Van Adams, 194 Ariz. 408, 422, ¶ 55, 984 P.2d 16, 30 (1999). ¶ 68 11. A proportionality review of a death sentence is constitutionally required. Rejected by State v. Gulbrandson, 184 Ariz. 46, 73, 906 P.2d 579, 606 (1995). ¶ 69 12. Arizona's death penalty statute violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article 2, Sections 4 and 15 of the Arizona Constitution because it does not require multiple mitigating facts to be considered cumulatively or require the trial court to make specific findings as to each mitigating factor. Rejected by State v. Van Adams, 194 Ariz. at 423, ¶ 55, 984 P.2d at 31. ¶ 70 13. Arizona's death penalty statute is constitutionally defective because it requires defendants to prove that their lives should be spared. Rejected by State v. Fulminante, 161 Ariz. 237, 258, 778 P.2d 602, 623 (1988).