Opinion ID: 2382857
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 28

Heading: State v. Zola

Text: Zola's case provides yet another example of the Court's questionable treatment of reversed cases. Zola's death sentence was reversed on grounds that affected the weight and treatment of the aggravating and mitigating factors, rendering its value as precedent for a death sentence highly suspect. The trial court failed to inform the jury that the aggravating factors must outweigh the mitigating factors beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Zola, 112 N.J. 384, 390-91, 548 A. 2d 1022. That error alone forces the conclusion that the deathworthiness judgment is unreliable. Yet the deathworthiness decision is also suspect because the trial court told the jury that the mitigating factors must be found unanimously. Id. at 433, 548 A. 2d 1022. The combined effect of the two errors firmly establishes that the death verdict is untrustworthy. Zola pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life after the reversal, further supporting the counting of his case as a life-sentenced case.