Opinion ID: 2590700
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Defendant's Sentence is Capricious, Arbitrary, Discriminatory, and Disproportionate

Text: The trial court denied defendant's motion to reduce his death sentence to life without the possibility of parole. Claiming the facts here do not rise to the level of a truly death-deserving case, defendant insists that Anderson was as much or more involved in the crimes than defendant (and yet Anderson was not charged with any crime), and that this was simply a robbery-murder offense with just one victim. Asking this court to compare this case to other capital appeals, defendant claims his death sentence is capricious, arbitrary, discriminatory, and disproportionate in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. We disagree. Intercase proportionality review is not required. ( People v. Griffin, supra, 33 Cal.4th at p. 596, 15 Cal.Rptr.3d 743, 93 P.3d 344.) Moreover, under intra case review, defendant's death sentence is not disproportionate to his individual culpability and moral guilt. (See People v. Steele (2002) 27 Cal.4th 1230, 1269, 120 Cal.Rptr.2d 432, 47 P.3d 225.) Defendant robbed and murdered Swader, who trusted defendant by employing him and allowing him to live in his home for a period of time. Defendant shot Swader twice in the head while he was asleep in order to take his money. Later, while in custody, defendant solicited the murder of a key prosecution witness who could place defendant and Swader together before the crimes. Moreover, contrary to defendant's suggestion, the alleged greater culpability of another person is irrelevant for purposes of intracase proportionality review. (See People v. Beardslee (1991) 53 Cal.3d 68, 111-112, 279 Cal.Rptr. 276, 806 P.2d 1311.) In sum, these circumstances do not demonstrate that defendant's death sentence is disproportionate. ( People v. Steele, supra, 27 Cal.4th at p. 1269, 120 Cal.Rptr.2d 432, 47 P.3d 225; People v. Seaton, supra, 26 Cal.4th at p. 690, 110 Cal.Rptr.2d 441, 28 P.3d 175 [the defendant brutally beat to death an aged, defenseless man so he could rob the victim of his meager possessions].)