Opinion ID: 1427012
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: independent review of aggravating and mitigating factors

Text: At sentencing, the court found two aggravating circumstances and no mitigating circumstances sufficiently substantial to call for leniency, and then sentenced appellant to death. Pursuant to State v. Richmond, 114 Ariz. 186, 560 P.2d 41, cert. denied, 433 U.S. 915, 97 S.Ct. 2988, 53 L.Ed.2d 1101 (1976), we independently review the record to determine the existence or absence of aggravating and mitigating circumstances, and determine whether the death penalty should be imposed. The first aggravating circumstance found by the sentencing court was that the offense was committed in the expectation of the receipt of something of pecuniary value. A.R.S. § 13-703(F)(5). Pecuniary consideration must be a cause of the murder, not merely a result. E.g., State v. Gillies, 135 Ariz. 500, 512, 662 P.2d 1007, 1019 (1983). In the instant case, we have already concluded that the appellant wanted Maya's car so he (appellant) could leave Arizona to evade capture from his escape from the work furlough program, that appellant wanted money to facilitate his flight from Arizona authorities, and that appellant then killed Maya to hinder detection of the theft of Maya's car and wallet. We agree with the sentencing court that a cause for the murder was pecuniary gain. See State v. Gretzler, 135 Ariz. 42, 50, 659 P.2d 1, 9, cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 103 S.Ct. 2444, 77 L.Ed.2d 1327 (1983) (defendants committed the murders to obtain a substitute car in which they could continue their flight); State v. Tison, 129 Ariz. 546, 555, 633 P.2d 355, 364 (1981), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 882, 103 S.Ct. 180, 74 L.Ed.2d 147, (1982) (homicides were committed to secure a vehicle in which assailants could continue their flight); State v. Clark, 126 Ariz. 428, 436, 616 P.2d 888, 96, cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1067, 101 S.Ct. 796, 66 L.Ed.2d 612 (1980) (defendant killed and then took victims' credit cards, money, rings, and car; court concluded that [t]he circumstances surrounding the total episode reflect that the expectation of financial gain was a cause of the murders.). The second aggravating circumstance found by the sentencing court was that the murder was committed in an especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner. A.R.S. § 13-703(F)(6). Because the statutory expression is in the disjunctive, a finding of only one of these factors is necessary to constitute this aggravating circumstance. E.g. Clark, supra, 126 Ariz. at 436, 616 P.2d at 96. Heinous and depraved refer to the perpetrator's mental state whereas cruelty involves mental and physical pain suffered by the victim. Id. It is clear that the murder in the instant case was committed in a cruel manner. The victim suffered great mental anguish. Evidence of the mental anguish of a victim, resulting from such factors as being held captive for an extended period, uncertain as to his ultimate fate, is relevant to establish cruelty. State v. Gillies, supra, 135 Ariz. at 513, 662 P.2d at 1020. The victim in the present case heard the assailants discuss killing him, and even where to hide the body. Maya was forced into his own car and held at gunpoint during the two-hour drive to Salome, a place he knew the assailants had chosen to commit the murder. The assaults on Maya began within a couple of hours after midnight, and Maya was not killed until almost daybreak. Thus, Maya was held captive, uncertain as to his ultimate fate, for several hours before the killing. At the mine shaft, Maya requested and was allowed to smoke one last cigarette before his execution. Therefore, even after arriving at the place chosen for the murder, Maya was subjected to the additional torment of being allowed to delay the inevitable by smoking his final cigarette while his assailants stood by, delaying their final assault until he finished. Finally, Maya pleaded for his life. We find that these facts beyond any reasonable doubt establish mental cruelty. In addition to mental cruelty, Maya was physically abused. He was beaten in the trailer, outside the trailer after he attempted to flee the assailants, and in the trailer again after his assailants pursued and caught him. In Salome, Maya, while conscious, was beaten with rocks, a board, and then with more rocks. The appellant inflicted physical pain upon Maya. We agree with the sentencing court that the aggravating circumstance heinous, cruel or depraved exists in this case. The appellant urged several non-statutory mitigating circumstances: that he is a follower and merely followed the lead of James in committing the murder, that he had been promised but was never given psychological care while in custody previously, that he was young (20 years) at the time of the crime, that he has no previous record of violence, and that he would not have had a juvenile record were it not for his own father filing charges against him. In response, we first note that from the beginning the appellant actively participated in the crime, and even pointed the gun at Maya on the way to Salome. Second, there is no evidence that appellant's ability to appreciate the wrongfulness of his acts was substantially impaired. Third, the sentencing court specifically found that appellant's age was not a mitigating factor. Considering the deliberation involved in the crime, and the duration of the crime, we agree that the appellant's age is not a sufficient factor to call for leniency. See Gillies, supra, 135 Ariz. at 513, 662 P.2d at 1020. Finally, we agree with the trial court that all of appellant's claimed mitigating circumstances, considered as a whole, are not sufficiently substantial to call for leniency.