Opinion ID: 2103548
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Absence of Jury Recommendation

Text: The trial court here gave no weight or consideration in sentencing to the fact that the jury was unable to reach a unanimous recommendation either for or against imposing the death penalty. The majority in Roche v. State (1992), Ind., 596 N.E.2d 896, 899 held that no meaning should be interpreted from the jury's failure to reach a recommendation because the language of the statute provides that if the jury is unable to agree, the court must proceed as if the hearing had been to the court alone, Ind. Code § 35-50-2-9(f) (1993). Nevertheless, the statute does provide that the judge may consider any appropriate circumstances in mitigation. Ind. Code § 35-50-2-9(c)(8). That one or more members of the conscience of the community assembled to review the propriety of the death penalty believes that it should not be imposed is, in my view, a circumstance appropriate for consideration, although not grounds for reversal here. See Roche at 902 (DeBruler, J., concurring opinion in which Krahulik, J., concurs).