Opinion ID: 1226896
Heading Depth: 6
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The age of Douglas Mickey at the time of the crime.

Text: (j) Whether or not Douglas Mickey was an accomplice to the offense and his participation in the commission of the offense was relatively minor. (k) Any other circumstance which extenuates the gravity of the crime even though it is not a legal excuse for the crime. At defendant's request, the trial court gave the following instruction. You may consider pity, sympathy or mercy in deciding the appropriate punishment; however, you should not be governed by mere conjecture, prejudice or public opinion. Factors in mitigation may include, but are not limited to, Douglas Scott Mic[k]ey's character, background, history, mental condition and physical condition. The trial court instructed in conformity with CALJIC No. 8.84.2 (4th ed. 1979) and, ultimately, in conformity with section 190.3. The following part (which was delivered twice in the course of the charge) is pertinent here. It is now your duty to determine which of the two penalties, death or confinement in the state prison for life without possibility of parole, shall be imposed upon defendant. After having heard all of the evidence, and after having heard and considered the arguments of counsel, you shall consider, take into account and be guided by the applicable factors of aggravating and mitigating circumstances upon which you have been instructed. If you conclude that the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstances, you shall impose a sentence of death. However, if you determine that the mitigating circumstances outweigh the aggravating circumstances, you shall impose a sentence of confinement in the state prison for life without the possibility of parole.