Opinion ID: 407646
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Unconstitutional Consideration and Application of Aggravating Circumstances

Text: 93 In support of his decision imposing the death penalty the trial judge listed four aggravating factors. 50 Appellant contends that three of these factors were invalid and therefore that imposition of the death penalty in this case violated his eighth amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.
94 Appellant contends that two of the aggravating factors relied on by the judge-that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, and cruel, and that appellant created a great risk of serious bodily harm and death to many persons-were unsupported by any evidence in this case. Appellant does not contend that it is the federal courts' function in habeas cases generally to review state courts' findings for evidentiary sufficiency. 51 Appellant relies on Godfrey v. Georgia, 446 U.S. 420, 100 S.Ct. 1759, 64 L.Ed.2d 398 (1980), however, in urging that it is properly within the province of this court to review a claim that a state court's construction of an aggravating factor provision in a particular case is so vague or broad as to violate Furman's requirement that sentencing decisions be guided by clear, objective, rationally reviewable standards. On the basis of Godfrey, we conclude that the claim appellant presents is cognizable by this court. 52 95 In Godfrey, the Court considered the constitutionality of a death sentence imposed under the Georgia capital sentencing statute on the basis of the aggravating factor that the murder was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible and inhuman in that it involved torture, depravity of mind, or an aggravated battery to the victim. Id. at 426, 100 S.Ct. at 1764. The defendant had been convicted of killing his wife and his mother-in-law by shooting each in the head with a shotgun. Notwithstanding the Court's prior decision holding that the same aggravating factor was not unconstitutionally vague, Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 201, 96 S.Ct. 2909, 2938, 49 L.Ed.2d 859 (1976), 53 a plurality in Godfrey held that the jury's and state supreme court's application of the vile, horrible and inhuman aggravating factor absent any evidence of torture or aggravated battery to the victims was an unconstitutional construction of that provision. Although the Georgia courts previously had accorded a limiting construction to the aggravating factor at issue, the plurality found that such construction had not been followed in Godfrey's case. 54 The plurality concluded that, in light of the facts and circumstances of the murders that Godfrey was convicted of committing, his crimes could not be said to have reflected a consciousness materially more depraved than that of any person guilty of murder. Godfrey v. Georgia, 446 U.S. at 432, 433, 100 S.Ct. at 1767. Since there was no principled way to distinguish (that) case, in which the death penalty was imposed, from the many cases in which it was not, id. at 433, 100 S.Ct. at 1767, the Georgia courts had failed to comply with Furman's requirement that any decision to impose the death sentence be based on clear, detailed, and objective standards reflecting reason rather than caprice or emotion. Id. 96 The aggravating factors challenged by appellant here were upheld by the Supreme Court as facially valid on appellant's direct appeal. Proffitt v. Florida, 428 U.S. at 255-56, 96 S.Ct. at 2968. The Court did not rule on the constitutionality of the provision as applied in this case, 55 however; hence the issue is properly before this court. Before addressing the merits of appellant's claim, we deem it advisable to state the precise nature of the issue before us. The question is not whether we agree with the sentencing court that appellant should receive the death penalty. See note 51 supra. Nor is it within our province to judge the merits of the particular aggravating factors chosen by the Florida Legislature and interpreted by the Florida courts as justifying the imposition of death. Rather, the issue we must decide is essentially a procedural one: whether the construction of the eighth statutory aggravating factor evinced by the trial court's application of it to the facts of this case comports with the eighth amendment requirement that death sentences be based on clear, detailed, and rationally reviewable standards. See Godfrey v. Georgia, 446 U.S. at 427-33, 100 S.Ct. at 1764-67. 97 As the Supreme Court noted on Proffitt's direct appeal, the Florida court has accorded a limited interpretation to the heinous, atrocious, and cruel aggravating factor. Proffitt v. Florida, 428 U.S. at 255-56, 96 S.Ct. at 2968. The state court has required that the horror of the murder be accompanied by such additional acts as to set the crime apart from the norm. Cooper v. State, 336 So.2d 1133 (Fla.1976), cert. denied, 431 U.S. 925, 97 S.Ct. 2200, 53 L.Ed.2d 239 (1977); State v. Dixon, 283 So.2d 1, 9 (Fla.1973). More specifically, the court has held that the murder must be conscienceless or pitiless in the sense that it is unnecessarily torturous to the victim. Id. The numerous cases in which the Florida Supreme Court has considered challenges to the application of this aggravating factor support the interpretation requiring acts of physical harm or torture to the murder victim prior to or accompanying the act resulting in death. Compare, e.g., Welty v. State, 402 So.2d 1159 (Fla.1981) (factor upheld where defendant robbed victim, later returned to victim's residence, struck sleeping victim several times in neck, and then set fire to his bed); Straight v. State, 397 So.2d 903 (Fla.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 102 S.Ct. 556, 70 L.Ed.2d 418 (1981) (factor upheld where defendant participated in murder inflicted by multiple stab wounds and bludgeoning); Thompson v. State, 389 So.2d 197 (Fla.1980) (factor upheld where victim died of wounds from gruesome series of torturous acts by defendant); Lucas v. State, 376 So.2d 1149 (Fla.1979) (factor upheld where defendant shot victim, pursued her into house, struggled with her, hit her, dragged her from house, and shot her to death while she begged for her life); Dobbert v. State, 375 So.2d 1069 (Fla.1979), cert. denied, 447 U.S. 912, 100 S.Ct. 3000, 64 L.Ed.2d 862 (1980) (factor upheld where defendant tortured his child over prolonged period and murdered her to prevent discovery of her battered condition); Washington v. State, 362 So.2d 658 (Fla.1978), cert. denied, 441 U.S. 937, 99 S.Ct. 2063, 60 L.Ed.2d 666 (1979) (factor upheld where evidence showed bullet did not penetrate victim's skull and cause of death was four of nine stab wounds, none of which was instantly fatal) with Maggard v. State, 399 So.2d 973 (Fla.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 102 S.Ct. 610, 70 L.Ed.2d 598 (1981) (factor reversed where victim died quickly from single gunshot blast fired through window and victim was unware he was going to be shot); Armstrong v. State, 399 So.2d 953 (Fla.1981) (factor reversed where murderers were only at scene of crime for very brief period and shooting was precipitated by armed resistance); Williams v. State, 386 So.2d 538 (Fla.1980) (factor reversed where victim died almost instantaneously from gunshot wounds); Fleming v. State, 374 So.2d 954 (Fla.1979) (factor reversed where killing of policeman accomplished by single shot fired when hostage grabbed defendant's gun); Kampff v. State, 371 So.2d 1007 (Fla.1979) (factor reversed where defendant directed pistol shot straight to head of victim); Halliwell v. State, 323 So.2d 557 (Fla.1975) (factor reversed where mutilation of victim's body occurred only after victim's death). The Florida court has repeatedly rejected application of this factor to killings accomplished quickly by acts of shooting or stabbing involving no additional torturous acts to the victim. E.g., Lewis v. State, 398 So.2d 432 (Fla.1981); Demps v. State, 395 So.2d 501 (Fla.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 102 S.Ct. 430, 70 L.Ed.2d 239 (1981); Kampff v. State, supra; Menedez v. State, 368 So.2d 1278 (Fla.1979); Riley v. State, 366 So.2d 19 (Fla.1978). Moreover, the court has expressly held that the fact that a murder is premeditated, cold and calculated does not render it especially heinous, atrocious, and cruel. Lewis v. State, 398 So.2d at 438. Nor does the commission of the killing in the presence of another family member bring it within the statutory factor, since, under the Florida court's construction of the factor, the atrocity must consist of an act done to the victim. Riley v. State, 366 So.2d at 21. 98 In this case, there was no evidence that appellant perpetrated any physical act on the victim other than the single stab in the chest that resulted in his death. 56 Moreover, neither in his findings nor in his instructions to the jury as to the meaning of the eighth aggravating circumstance did the trial judge indicate that such factor requires proof of torturous acts to the victim. 57 The finding made by the judge in this case therefore suggests no inherent restraint on the arbitrary and capricious infliction of the death sentence. Cf. Godfrey v. Georgia, 446 U.S. at 428, 100 S.Ct. at 1764 (instructions alone did not restrain jury's discretion). Finally, the Florida Supreme Court's decision affirming appellant's sentence does not indicate it even considered the propriety of the application of such factor in this case, see Proffitt v. State, 315 So.2d at 466-67, and thus that court's review in no way cured the exercise of uncontrolled discretion by the judge in this case. Godfrey v. Georgia, 446 U.S. at 429, 100 S.Ct. at 1765. 99 Applying the same analysis to the trial court's finding that (t)he defendant knowingly ... created a great risk of ... death to many persons, we conclude that application of that provision in the instant case implies a construction so broad that it cannot be viewed as a meaningful limitation on sentencer discretion. Appellant's act of killing, consisting of the infliction of a single knife wound in the chest of the victim, endangered only the victim himself. Although the facts indicate that appellant struck the victim's wife with his fists when she was awakened by her husband's moans, there was no evidence that the blows were of such force that they were likely to kill her. 58 Even if appellant could reasonably be said to have threatened the woman's life, the sum of appellant's acts surrounding the killing, viewed in the light least favorable to him, at most could be said to have risked death to two persons. Application of this aggravating factor to the facts of this case is not only inconsistent with the Florida Supreme Court's construction of the provision; 59 it also reflects an absence of control or guidance of the sentencing judge's discretion. We cannot say that the death sentence imposed on the basis of such factor was based on reason rather than caprice or emotion. Gardner v. Florida, 430 U.S. 349, 358, 97 S.Ct. 1197, 1204, 51 L.Ed.2d 393.
100 In addition to the two aggravating factors discussed above, appellant challenges a third factor relied on by the judge because it does not accord with circumstances identified as aggravating in Fla.Stat. § 921.141(5). The judge's finding that appellant has the propensity to commit the crime for which he was convicted ... and is a danger and a menace to society, on which he relied as one aggravating factor supporting the death penalty, bears no resemblance to any of the statutory aggravating factors. 101 In Henry v. Wainwright, 661 F.2d 56 (5th Cir. 1981), vacated on other grounds, --- U.S. ----, 102 S.Ct. 2922, 73 L.Ed.2d --- (1982), the Fifth Circuit held that consideration by the sentencer of nonstatutory aggravating factors violates the eighth and fourteenth amendments. Although the Henry decision has been vacated by the Supreme Court on procedural grounds not relevant to this case, 60 we find its reasoning persuasive and therefore adopt its analysis. See Zant v. Stephens, --- U.S. ----, ----, 102 S.Ct. 1856, 1859-65, 72 L.Ed.2d 222 (Marshall, J., dissenting); id. 102 S.Ct. at 1865 (Powell, J., dissenting). 102 In Henry, the court held that admission of evidence of aggravating factors not listed in the statute coupled with an instruction allowing the jury to consider nonstatutory aggravating factors in rendering an advisory sentence was unconstitutional. Unlike Henry, appellant does not complain that the jury was allowed to consider evidence of nonstatutory aggravating circumstances or that the jury's advisory sentence was based on such evidence; 61 rather, he challenges the trial court's sentencing decision, which its findings indicate was based partly on nonstatutory aggravating factors. In our view, the reasoning employed by the Henry court, with which we agree, is equally applicable to the advisory sentence decision of the jury and the ultimate sentence determination made by the trial judge. 62 As the Henry court noted, Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 92 S.Ct. 2726, 33 L.Ed.2d 346 (1972) held unconstitutional under the eighth amendment capital sentencing procedures that, by failing to limit and guide sentencer discretion, permitted arbitrary and selective imposition of the death penalty. Henry v. Wainwright, 661 F.2d at 58. In Furman's 1976 progeny, in which five post-Furman capital sentencing statutes were challenged, the Court upheld those statutes that provided specific and detailed standards to guide the sentencer in deciding whether to impose the death penalty. See Jurek v. Texas, 428 U.S. 262, 96 S.Ct. 2950, 49 L.Ed.2d 929 (1976); Proffitt v. Florida, 428 U.S. 242, 96 S.Ct. 2960, 49 L.Ed.2d 913 (1976); Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 96 S.Ct. 2909, 49 L.Ed.2d 859 (1976). The Court specifically approved the Florida statute because its aggravating and mitigating provisions appeared to provide such guidance. Proffitt v. Florida, 428 U.S. at 248-53, 96 S.Ct. at 2964-2967. In considering appellant's propensity to commit (murder) and the danger he posed to society, the trial court transcended the list of aggravating factors set forth in the Florida statute and substituted his own judgment of what circumstances justify capital punishment for that of the Florida Legislature. In so doing, the trial judge not only committed error under the state law, see Brown v. State, 381 So.2d 690, 696 (Fla.1980); Elledge v. State, 346 So.2d 998, 1002 (Fla.1977); he also exceeded the federal constitutional limitations imposed by Furman on capital sentencing by increasing the risk that the death penalty would be imposed in an arbitrary and capricious manner. In short, we agree with the Henry court that because the limitations of the statute make the death penalty constitutional ... (i)gnoring those limitations ( ) implicates the constitution. Henry v. Wainwright, 661 F.2d at 60. For the reasons just stated, we conclude that the trial judge's reliance on nonstatutory aggravating circumstances renders appellant's sentence unconstitutional under the eighth and fourteenth amendments. 103 As a fallback argument, the state contends that even if the trial judge erroneously considered nonstatutory aggravating factors such error was harmless because in this case the judge found no mitigating circumstances. As long as some of the aggravating factors found by the sentencer are valid, the state argues, death is presumed proper in the absence of mitigating evidence. We cannot agree with this argument for several reasons. First, one premise of the state's argument-that there were several valid aggravating factors supporting the sentence-cannot be established in this case. Eliminating the nonstatutory factor, we are left with three statutory aggravating circumstances found by the trial judge: that appellant committed the murder while in the course of committing the additional felony offense of burglary, that he created a great risk of death to many persons, and that the murder he committed was especially heinous, atrocious, and cruel. See note 50 supra. Although these factors fall within the statutory list, we have determined that the trial court's application of the heinous, atrocious and cruel and great risk of death to many persons factors in this case was unconstitutional under Godfrey. See section IV.D.1 supra. Hence, the only valid aggravating factor in this case is that appellant committed the murder in conjunction with a burglary. In some cases one statutory aggravating circumstance may be sufficient justification for imposing the death penalty. We cannot conclude, however, that appellant's entry of the victim's house, which he did for the purpose of committing the murder, was a circumstance sufficient(ly) aggravating in nature that the judge necessarily would have imposed the death penalty on that ground alone. See Fla.Stat.Ann. § 921.141(3) (West Supp.1982) (judge must find sufficient aggravating circumstances exist to justify sentence of death). The second premise of the state's argument-that there were no mitigating circumstances that might outweigh any aggravating ones-presents similar difficulties. The trial court's findings do not unqualifiedly state that there are no mitigating circumstances but rather indicate the judge's conclusion that such factors are primarily negated and are outweigh(ed) by the aggravating factors he found. 63 Thus, contrary to the state's characterization, this case does not present the situation in which there exist valid aggravating factors undoubtedly sufficient to justify a death sentence counterbalanced by no mitigating factors. 104 An even more substantial impediment to adopting the analysis suggested by the state is that the Fifth Circuit has already rejected it. In Henry, in addition to the nonstatutory aggravating factors, the trial court had found several statutory aggravating factors and no mitigating ones. Although the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the sentence on this ground, the former Fifth Circuit disagreed and held that affirming a death sentence partially predicated on nonstatutory factors violates the eighth amendment requirement of rational appellate review of capital sentencing decisions. Henry v. Wainwright, 661 F.2d at 58-60. The Florida Supreme Court's attempt to divine what motives impelled (this) death penalt(y), in the Henry court's view, had compounded rather than resolved the trial court's sentencing error. Id. at 59. Recognizing the importance of the appellate review aspect of Florida's capital sentencing scheme, which the Supreme Court emphasized in upholding the Florida statute, 64 the Henry court declared: 105 Guarding against the arbitrary and discriminatory imposition of the death penalty must not become simply a guessing game played by a reviewing court in which it tries to discern whether the improper nonstatutory aggravating factors exerted a decisive influence on the sentence determination. The guarantee against cruel and unusual punishment demands more. 106 Id. We agree that the rational appellate review of capital sentencing decisions contemplated by Furman and its progeny requires more than mere speculation or conjecture as to what the sentencing tribunal would have decided had it correctly applied the law. Such post hoc justification of a sentencing decision, which depends on a rationale for imposing death distinct from that relied on by the sentencer, cannot fulfill the appellate court's constitutional responsibilities. Cf. Presnell v. Georgia, 439 U.S. 14, 99 S.Ct. 235, 58 L.Ed.2d 207 (1978) (per curiam) (imposition of death penalty where appellate court rejected jury grounds for sentence but affirmed on different theory violated due process). Only where the factors supporting the death sentence are so clear that proper application of the statute by reasonable persons could produce no other result should a sentence be affirmed despite constitutional error. Such was not the case here. We conclude that the trial court's unconstitutional application of statutory aggravating factors and consideration of nonstatutory ones entitled appellant to resentencing in the trial court. 107