Opinion ID: 1931326
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Consideration of All Mitigating Evidence

Text: Mitigating evidence must be considered and weighed when it is contained anywhere in the record, to the extent it is uncontroverted and believable. See Farr v. State, 621 So.2d 1368 (Fla. 1993). This requirement applies with equal force when the defendant asks the court not to consider mitigating evidence, as Spann did in this case. Id. The sentencing court must expressly evaluate in its written order each mitigating circumstance proposed by the defendant. Rogers v. State, 783 So.2d 980, 995 (Fla.2001); accord Jackson v. State, 767 So.2d 1156, 1158 (Fla.2000). Such documentation is necessary to assure this Court that the trial court has properly evaluated and weighed each mitigating circumstance proposed by the defendant, as well as to permit this Court a meaningful review of the sentencing order. Bryant v. State, 785 So.2d 422, 432-33 (Fla.2001); Jackson, 767 So.2d at 1159. However, because nonstatutory mitigation is so individualized, the defense must share the burden and identify for the court the specific nonstatutory mitigation it is attempting to establish. See Lucas v. State, 568 So.2d 18, 24 (Fla. 1990); see also Donaldson v. State, 722 So.2d 177, 188 (Fla.1998). Spann claims there are nineteen items of mitigation supported by the record that are believable and uncontroverted, including: (1) Spann was capable of living in a prison population without serious difficulty or doing harm to another; (2) at a certain age Spann came under the influence of a bad crowd; (3) available mental health mitigation; (4) school records; (5) social records; (6) Spann's criminal history records; (7) Philmore's criminal history records; (8) Spann was in a car accident in 1989 or 1990; (9) Spann's drug use during the episode; (10) Spann's low level of education as referenced in the PSI; (11) Spann's skills as a welder; (12) Spann's current or most recent employer is unknown; (13) Spann left home at an early age; (14) Spann had an unstable residential history; (15) Spann has two other children besides the one referenced in the sentencing order; (16) Spann has sinus and hayfever problems; (17) Spann has an unhealthy relationship with his mother; (18) Spann needed an appropriate male role model; and (19) Spann was institutionalized as a juvenile. In the sentencing order, the trial court stated: The defendant has affirmatively waived all evidence of mitigation, hence none was presented. However, the Court will consider the proffered non-statutory mitigation as well as all mitigation in the record including any and all mitigation as set forth in the PSI. The trial court then considered and weighed the mitigating evidence that was established in the record. The trial court found no statutory mitigation but specifically found the following nonstatutory mitigation: (1) the defendant had been a good son according to his mother, a good brother according to his siblings, and a good student up to a point (little weight); (2) the defendant was not the person who fired the fatal shots in the murder for which he is to be sentenced (very little weight); (3) the defendant is capable of living in a prison population without serious difficulty or doing harm to another (some weight); (4) the defendant's wife would testify that he was a good husband and father (slight weight); and (5) the PSI reflects that the defendant's father was shot to death when the defendant was two to four years old (moderate weight). The trial court concluded: The Court accepted as true through the proffer and/or through the evidence and/or PSI that non-statutory mitigating circumstances have been established, as discussed above. Spann argues that all mitigating evidence, even if it was not explicitly proffered but contained somewhere in the record, should have been individually listed in the sentencing order and discussed. Evidence is mitigating if, in fairness or in the totality of the defendant's life or character, it may be considered as extenuating or reducing the degree of moral culpability for the crime committed. See Evans v. State, 808 So.2d 92 (Fla.2001). The relevant standards of review for mitigating circumstances are as follows: (1) whether a particular circumstance is truly mitigating in nature is a question of law and subject to de novo review by this Court; (2) whether a mitigating circumstance has been established by the evidence in a given case is a question of fact and subject to the competent, substantial evidence standard; and (3) the weight assigned to a mitigating circumstance is within the trial court's discretion and subject to the abuse of discretion standard. See Campbell v. State, 571 So.2d 415, 419-20 (Fla.1990). Many of the items Spann now lists as mitigation were considered by the trial court and were included in the trial court's discussion of mitigation in the sentencing order. For example, the sentencing court found that Spann was capable of living in a prison population without serious difficulty, and gave this nonstatutory mitigator some weight. The sentencing court also discussed Spann's assertion that at some point he came under the influence of a bad crowd. The sentencing court referenced the presentence investigation report, which would have included facts such as Spann's low level of education. Furthermore, the transcript indicates that the judge specifically inquired about Spann's school records, social records, and criminal history records, as well as any mitigation that would be revealed through a mental health evaluation. Other items Spann now lists as mitigation are not extenuating or do not reduce the degree of moral culpability for the crimes committed. For example, the evidence fails to show that Spann's alleged history of sinus and hayfever problems is mitigating. Likewise, Spann's skills as a welder, the fact that he left home at an early age, and his unstable residential history are not extenuating and do not reduce the degree of moral culpability for the crime committed. We find that the mitigating evidence was properly considered and weighed by the trial court, and we therefore deny relief on this issue.