Opinion ID: 1708859
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 21

Heading: could the aggravating circumstances found by the jury constitutionally support jimmy stringer's death sentence?

Text: The aggravating circumstances found by the jury were: that the defendant contemplated that life would be taken, that the capital murder was intentionally committed and the defendant shared in that intent, that the murder was committed while the defendant was engaged in an attempt to commit robbery, that the murder was committed for pecuniary gain, that the murder was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing arrest, and that the murder was especially cruel. The appellant argues that the jury was not informed that it could consider only the killing of Ray McWilliams in finding aggravating circumstances. He also argues that there was nothing to show that the murder of Ray McWilliams was especially cruel. In Godfrey v. Georgia, 446 U.S. 420, 100 S.Ct. 1759, 64 L.Ed.2d 398 (1980), the United States Supreme Court reversed a death penalty given to a man who shot his wife and mother-in-law. The evidence showed that he shot his wife through a window of a trailer, then entered the trailer and shot his mother-in-law. The court noted that the victims were killed instantly, that they were family members with whom the defendant had had conflict, and that the defendant immediately acknowledged the killings after he had done them. Thus, the court reasoned that the defendant had not shown a consciousness Materially more depraved than that of any person guilty of murder. 446 U.S. at 433, 100 S.Ct. at 1767, 64 L.Ed.2d at 409. The state argues that the fact that Ray McWilliams was forced to fight for his life, and fight for the life of his wife, raises this crime to being particularly cruel. However, regardless of whether the evidence substantiates that finding, the jury's death penalty was predicated on several aggravating circumstances. In Zant v. Stephens, 462 U.S. 862, 103 S.Ct. 2733, 77 L.Ed.2d 235 (1983), the court held that, where a death penalty is supported by several aggravating circumstances, the invalidity of one of those circumstances will not constitutionally impair the sentence.