Opinion ID: 2369836
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Other sentencing-phase issues

Text: In view of the disposition that we make, we are not required to resolve other sentencing-phase issues raised by defendant. In particular, defendant argues that submission to the jury of the c(4)(f) aggravating factor (killing to escape detection) was precluded because in pretrial proceedings the State had specifically relied upon the robbery as the underlying predicate offense for charging this factor. Although the prosecutor emphasized in his closing arguments that the basis for the jury's finding of this factor could be the sexual-contact conviction, in its charge to the jury the trial court did not specify a basis for submitting the c(4)(f) factor. Either basis raises the serious concerns noted by Justice Handler's dissent. Trial fairness is a categorical imperative for death-penalty prosecutions. State v. Williams, 93 N.J. 39, 61, 459 A. 2d 641 (1983). No one can face capital sentencing without adequate notice of the charges against him or her. See Lankford v. Idaho, ___ U.S. ___, 111 S.Ct. 1723, 114 L.Ed. 2d 173 (1991) (vacating court-imposed death sentence when State has not given notice that it would seek death penalty). If the jury based its finding of the killing-to-avoid-detection factor on the basis of the sexual contact, there is a serious due-process issue. On the other hand, if the jury based its finding of this factor on the previously specified offense of robbery, defendant would seek to assert a double-jeopardy violation because the jury had acquitted defendant of the underlying robbery. The State argues that the obvious basis was the sexual-contact offense and that because defendant knew from the prosecutor's remarks that that was the basis for submission of the factor, there is no lack of notice and no due-process violation. We need not resolve the issue in this case, but we caution courts concerning the need to observe Lankford's admonitions about fair notice in presenting capital cases to the sentencing jury.