Opinion ID: 2127461
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Sufficiency of Death Penalty Findings

Text: Benirschke claims that the trial court did not properly evaluate mitigating circumstances in arriving at its conclusion that the death penalty should be imposed. The sentencing court has a separate and independent role in assessing and weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances and in making the final determination whether to impose the death penalty. It is the duty of the sentencing court to make the final determination of the sentence, after considering the jury's recommendation, and to base the sentence on the same standards that the recommending jury is required to consider. IND. CODE § 35-50-2-9(e). In arriving at its own separate determination as to whether the death penalty is an appropriate punishment, the sentencing court is to point out its employment of this process in specific and clear findings. Judy v. State (1981), 275 Ind. 145, 168, 416 N.E.2d 95, 108. The trial court's statement of reasons should include identification of each mitigating and aggravating circumstance found, specific facts and reasons which lead the court to find the existence of each such circumstance, and articulation demonstrating that the mitigating and aggravating circumstances have been evaluated and balanced in determination of the sentence. Henderson v. State (1986), Ind., 489 N.E.2d 68, 71-72; Schiro v. State (1983), Ind., 451 N.E.2d 1047, cert. denied (1983), 464 U.S. 1003, 104 S.Ct. 510, 78 L.Ed.2d 699. After the instant case was fully briefed and argued by counsel before this Court, we determined the trial court had not clearly set out in its findings that it had made independent judgments as required and had not sufficiently indicated the evaluation given to mitigating circumstances. We, therefore, issued a writ of certiorari to the trial court requiring the trial judge to more specifically articulate the findings in these regards. The trial court responded and furnished findings in this areas. Supplemental briefing followed. Benirschke claims the trial court improperly weighed and evaluated the mitigating circumstances and, therefore, his ultimate finding of imposing the death penalty was invalid. We fail to see any significance in Benirschke's objections which would rise to legal error and demonstrate other than that he is dissatisfied with the findings. The trial court found the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Benirschke committed each of the aggravating circumstances by intentionally killing Cromwell and Muvich and, further, that he did so while committing or attempting to commit robbery. The court further enumerated its findings in each category of mitigating circumstances. His findings in this regard are as follows: MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES I. THE DEFENDANT HAS NO SIGNIFICANT HISTORY OF PRIOR CRIMINAL CONDUCT There was no evidence that defendant has a significant history of prior criminal conduct. His only apparent contact with the authorities was a speeding charge to which he plead [sic] guilty in September, 1986. II. THE DEFENDANT WAS UNDER EXTREME MENTAL OR EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE WHEN HE COMMITTED THE MURDER There was some evidence the defendant was mentally and/or emotionally disturbed when he killed Walter Murvich and James Cromwell. The psychiatric testimony was that the defendant was depressed and had an anti-social personality resulting from a long history of drug abuse. However, both of the court-appointed psychiatrists testified that the defendant had not demonstrated any disorganized thought or perceptual distortion. They both concluded that the defendant was neither insane nor mentally ill as those terms are defined by statute when he killed Walter Murvich and James Cromwell. III. THE VICTIM WAS A PARTICIPANT IN/OR CONSENTED TO THE DEFENDANT'S CONDUCT There was no evidence whatsoever that either of the victims either consented to or participated in the conduct of the defendant at the time of the crimes. IV. THE DEFENDANT WAS AN ACCOMPLICE IN A MURDER COMMITTED BY ANOTHER PERSON AND THE DEFENDANT'S PARTICIPATION WAS RELATIVELY MINOR The evidence was that the defendant acted alone in the commission of these crimes and there is no evidence of any other person having participated in any manner whatsoever. V. THE DEFENDANT ACTED UNDER THE SUBSTANTIAL DOMINATION OF ANOTHER PERSON There was simply no evidence that the defendant was under the substantial domination of another person. VI. THE DEFENDANT'S CAPACITY TO APPRECIATE THE CRIMINALITY OF HIS CONDUCT OR TO CONFORM HIS CONDUCT TO THE REQUIREMENT OF THE LAW WAS SUBSTANTIALLY IMPAIRED AS A RESULT OF MENTAL DISEASE OR DEFECT OR OF INTOXICATION Although there was evidence that the defendant was a drug abuser and had used drugs and/or consumed alcohol on the date of the crimes, there was no evidence that this impaired his capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirement of the law. Both the court-appointed psychiatrists concluded that the defendant was neither insane nor mentally ill. The evidence was that this was a planned, thought-out killing of Walter Muvich and that the killing of James Cromwell was calculated to avoid apprehension for the killing of Walter Muvich. The overall scenario indicated a deliberate, calculated plan that was not substantially affected or impaired by the use of drugs or alcohol. VII. THE DEFENDANT WAS LESS THAN 18 YEARS OF AGE AT THE TIME THE MURDER WAS COMMITTED The evidence was that the defendant was 25 years of age at the time of the commission of the crimes. VIII. ANY OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES APPROPRIATE FOR CONSIDERATION The evidence showed that the defendant was a high school graduate and was in the U.S. Marine Corps for approximately three (3) years during which time he was stationed in Germany. Revised Reasons For Imposition of Death Penalty, filed July 11, 1990, at 2-3. The trial court then stated in conclusion that it found the two aggravating circumstances and the existence of three mitigating circumstances, those being the defendant had no significant history of prior criminal conduct, the defendant had a history of depression and antisocial personality resulting from drug abuse which did not rise to the level of either a mental illness or insanity, and the defendant served approximately three years in the U.S. Marine Corps. The court then stated: The [c]ourt having carefully weighed and evaluated both the aggravating and mitigating circumstances now finds that the aggravating circumstances far outweigh the mitigating circumstances warranting the imposition of the Death Penalty in this case. Id. at 4. Thus, the court did consider each category of mitigating circumstances, articulating his findings in analyzing each one and his conclusions as to the efficacy of each one. He then found that though there was evidence of mitigation in three areas, it was his finding and conclusion that their weight was overcome by the aggravating circumstances. Central to Benirschke's objections to the manner in which the trial court considered the mitigating circumstances is his assessment that the trial court did not give sufficient weight to some of them. More particularly, in Mitigating Circumstances II and VI, Benirschke claims that the trial court required that the mitigating circumstance named therein was so extreme that it would be a valid defense to the crime. Benirschke reaches this conclusion by referring to the court's language in II that the defendant was neither insane nor mentally ill and in VI that the use of those terms and language would indicate the court was considering this issue as one would in a defense of insanity at the time of commission. On the contrary, however, the trial court did follow the legislative scheme of IND. CODE § 35-50-2-9 in assessing these mitigating circumstances. The mitigating circumstance the trial court could consider under (c)(2) under the above statute is that the defendant was under extreme mental or emotional disturbance when he committed the murder. IND. CODE § 35-50-2-9(c)(2). In other words, whatever the jury might find in the guilt or innocence stage of the trial as to that condition in the defendant is pertinent to consider in determining whether or not to impose the death penalty. A defendant could be found guilty but mentally ill, which still convicts him of the crime but may be a circumstance rendering the death penalty inappropriate. The trial court found here that, though there was evidence of mental or emotional disturbance, both court-appointed psychiatrists testified Benirschke had not demonstrated disorganized thought or perceptual distortion. They both concluded Benirschke was neither insane nor mentally ill when he committed these killings. This demonstrates an analysis by the court based on the evidence and an articulation as to his assessment of the weight of this circumstance as it affected the appropriateness of the death penalty. In specification (c)(6), a mitigating circumstance for consideration of the sentencing court is: The defendant's capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirement of the law was substantially impaired as a result of mental disease or defect or of intoxication. IND. CODE § 35-50-2-9(c)(2). Again, the trial court can consider as a mitigating circumstance the mental condition of the defendant regardless of whether it might not have been so apparent as to merit a finding of not guilty of the commission of the crime. The trial court found there was evidence defendant was a drug abuser and had used drugs and/or consumed alcohol on the date of the crime, but there was no evidence this impaired his capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirement of the law. Again he referred to the conclusions of both court-appointed psychiatrists that Benirschke was neither insane nor mentally ill and pointed out that the evidence showed this was a planned, thought-out killing of Walter Muvich and the killing of James Cromwell was calculated to escape apprehension. He finally concluded that the overall scenario indicated a deliberate, calculated plan that was not substantially affected or impaired by the use of drugs or alcohol. Thus, it is apparent that the trial court analyzed these mitigating circumstances in the manner in which he was directed by the statute and considered them based on the evidence presented to him. Other claims of error made by Benirschke of the trial court's handling of mitigating circumstances do nothing more than ask us to second-guess the trial court's weighing of the evidence and the significance of the circumstances. Since all of the trial court's findings in this regard are based on the evidence present in the record, we find no grounds for doing so. The record reveals that the trial court properly considered both aggravating and mitigating circumstances and properly imposed the death penalty in accordance with the Indiana act.