Opinion ID: 2625337
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Weighing process

Text: During closing argument, the prosecutor reminded the jury that defendant killed Nancy for financial gain. He then stated: And I would ask every one of you to think ... if any one of you deliberately took a human life for a few thousand dollars ... would you expect that a jury of your peers would impose the lesser of two sentences here? Just in your own experience, is that what you would expect? Do you think the good in your own lives would morally outweigh that type of crime? That's one of the factors that can be considered. (Italics added.) Defendant contends this argument was grossly misleading and a misstatement of the law. He asserts that the italicized statement diverted the jury's attention away from the background and character of the defendant to the jurors' background and character. We find no misconduct. The prosecutor's statement was coupled with the remark that the moral weight of taking a life for financial gain is one factor for the jury to consider. That was an appropriate consideration, because it is a circumstance of the capital crime. (§ 190.3, factor (a).) Nor did the statement prevent the jury from making an individualized sentencing determination. The determination of the personal culpability of a defendant cannot be made in a vacuum divorced from social standards or the experiences and morality of others; it is to reflect a reasoned moral response to the defendant's background, character and crime. ( Penry v. Lynaugh (1989) 492 U.S. 302, 319, 109 S.Ct. 2934, 106 L.Ed.2d 256.) In addition, the argument of defense counsel and the trial court's instructions to the jury directed the jury to consider the aggravating as well as the mitigating circumstances in relation to defendant's culpability.