Opinion ID: 1587246
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Exclusion of allegedly mitigating evidence.

Text: Appellants claim it was error for the trial court to refuse their proffer, as mitigation evidence, of the fact that a defendant in another case who had been convicted of multiple murders had been sentenced by agreement to life without parole. However, the requirement of individualized sentencing requires an assessment of the particular defendant's background and character and the nature of the crime for which he or she has been convicted. Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 319, 109 S.Ct. 2934, 2947, 106 L.Ed.2d 256 (1989), abrogated on other grounds by Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304, 122 S.Ct. 2242, 153 L.Ed.2d 335 (2002). As a corollary to that rule, evidence not bearing on the defendant's character, background, or the circumstances of the offense for which he/she has been convicted may be excluded. Smith v. Commonwealth, Ky., 845 S.W.2d 534, 539 (1993) ( quoting Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U.S. 586, 604 n. 12, 98 S.Ct. 2954, 2965 n. 12, 57 L.Ed.2d 973 (1978)). Specifically, evidence of a sentence imposed upon someone else, whether pursuant to plea agreement or jury verdict, is not a factor to be considered by the jury or the sentencing judge in determining the appropriate penalty for this defendant. Commonwealth v. Bass, Ky., 777 S.W.2d 233, 234 (1989); McClellan, 715 S.W.2d at 472.