Opinion ID: 1857482
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 23

Heading: Weighing of Circumstances.

Text: In addition to considering in mitigation Moore's turbulent childhood and severe personality disorder, as noted earlier, the resentencing panel also considered Moore's good conduct while incarcerated and his expressions of remorse for the killings. However, the panel did not find them to be of much significance. Moore argues that it did not assign enough weight to these nonstatutory mitigating circumstances. He also argues that the panel assigned too much weight to each of the aggravating circumstances. The U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that [a] capital sentencer need not be instructed how to weigh any particular fact in the capital sentencing decision. Tuilaepa v. California, 512 U.S. 967, ___, 114 S.Ct. 2630, 2638, 129 L.Ed.2d 750 (1994). It has also emphasized that `discretion to evaluate and weigh the circumstances relevant to the particular defendant and the crime he committed' is not impermissible in the capital sentencing process. Tuilaepa, ___ U.S. at ___, 114 S.Ct. at 2639, citing McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279, 107 S.Ct. 1756, 95 L.Ed.2d 262 (1987). After proof of at least one aggravating circumstance, the sentencing authority under our capital sentencing scheme is granted the discretion to determine the weight to be given to aggravating and mitigating circumstances and make `a reasoned judgment as to what factual situations require the imposition of death and which can be satisfied by life imprisonment in light of the totality of the circumstances present....' State v. Stewart, 197 Neb. 497, 518, 250 N.W.2d 849, 862 (1977), quoting State v. Dixon, 283 So.2d 1 (Fla. 1973). Thus, we need not inquire into the weight given to a particular aggravating or mitigating circumstance by the resentencing panel, and we decline to do so. Based upon our independent examination of the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, we conclude that the aggravating circumstances proven to exist far outweigh the mitigating circumstances and that therefore the imposition of the death penalty is appropriate. In each case, sufficient aggravating circumstances existed to justify the imposition of a death sentence, and the mitigating circumstances did not approach or exceed the aggravating circumstances.