Opinion ID: 2600675
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Defendant's history and socialization

Text: The defense presented testimony regarding defendant's emigration from Mexico and the various circumstances that frustrated his attempts to assimilate in the United States. Alex Saragoza, an associate professor of history in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, reviewed the police reports and spoke with defendant on several occasions. Saragoza formed the opinion that defendant exaggerated his own importance, blamed others for his failures, had a poor sense of self, and had low self-esteem. Saragoza found defendant's social history unusual in several respects. Defendant's relationship with his family was strained; he left Mexico after threatening to kill his entire family, and moved to Northern California without their assistance. Upon returning to his hometown, he boasted of his achievements in the United States. Defendant's experience as a Mexican immigrant was atypical: in Sonoma, defendant had many non-Mexican acquaintances and frequented Anglo-American bars. He portrayed his family in Mexico as more affluent and accomplished than their actual circumstances. According to Saragoza, defendant's marital history was out of the ordinary. His first marriage, to a woman pregnant by another man, was not typical in Mexican culture. Defendant married a second time, in the United States, and it was unclear whether his wife Debra's baby was defendant's biological child. Defendant belatedly learned that his third wife, Angela, had borne a child who was not defendant's. Angela was an unusual choice as defendant's marital partner in other respects. She had been educated at home because her family believed the public schools were a bad influence, was taught feminine tasks, and was raised as a strict Catholic. In Saragoza's view, Angela rebelled by, among other things, marrying a Mexican immigrant, to the displeasure of her family. Angela became more independent during the marriage, behavior that was inconsistent with a wife's role in defendant's native culture. At the same time, defendant's behavior toward his family was inconsistent with the male role in his culture. He treated Angela poorly by, among other things, staying out four or five nights a week in bars until 10:00 or 11:00 p.m.