Opinion ID: 1130099
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Circumstances of 1984 Michigan Murder

Text: The penalty jury learned from the record of conviction that the 1984 Michigan murder occurred two and one-half weeks before the capital crimes, and that defendant's partner in the capital crimes, James Schultz, was convicted of the same Michigan murder. The prosecution in the present case also admitted testimonial and photographic evidence that Bryant, the victim of the 1984 Michigan murder, sustained 66 knife wounds over his entire body. However, no evidence was introduced as to who inflicted such injuries  defendant, Schultz, or both men. (14) Defendant argues that, absent evidence that he personally inflicted any of Bryant's wounds, admission of the shocking details of the murder violated the requirement of an individualized and reliable sentencing determination under the Eighth Amendment. (See Woodson v. North Carolina (1976) 428 U.S. 280, 304-305 [49 L.Ed.2d 944, 961, 96 S.Ct. 2978].) Defendant insists that the jury must have assumed he was the actual killer as opposed to an aider and abettor or coconspirator, and that the penalty determination therefore was based on an unsubstantiated and exaggerated view of his moral culpability for the crime. In the alternative, defendant claims counsel was ineffective in failing to raise such an objection at trial. However, nothing in the relevant statutory or constitutional principles requires the prosecution to establish that the defendant personally committed each and every act occurring during a violent criminal episode admitted under section 190.3, factor (b). The sentencer in a capital proceeding is entitled to know about other incidents involving the use or threat of violence for which the defendant is shown to be criminally liable beyond a reasonable doubt, whether he participated as an actual perpetrator or in some other capacity. ( People v. Bacigalupo (1991) 1 Cal.4th 103, 136-137 [2 Cal. Rptr.2d 335, 820 P.2d 559] [applying factor (b) to violent crimes committed by another person and for which defendant could have been liable as an accomplice].) As long as penalty jurors are not materially misled about the nature and degree of the defendant's individual culpability, the prosecution may rely solely on a judgment of conviction to establish his involvement in a joint crime of violence. (See People v. Hayes (1990) 52 Cal.3d 577, 632-633 [276 Cal. Rptr. 874, 802 P.2d 376] [upholding use of juvenile court records to prove defendant committed manslaughter under factor (b) even though jury never learned whether defendant was the actual perpetrator or an aider and abettor].) Here, the evidence established that defendant and Schultz were each convicted of murdering Bryant, that both men were presumably present when the murder occurred, and that the murder was unusually violent and close in time to the capital crimes. In closing argument, the prosecutor did not state or imply that defendant actually stabbed or killed Bryant or that the victim's numerous knife wounds had any bearing on the relative culpability of defendant and Schultz. The prosecutor simply urged jurors to find defendant guilty of the Bryant murder and to consider this brutal homicide in conjunction with other evidence of defendant's violent criminality in determining the appropriate penalty. In response, defense counsel conceded that defendant and Schultz were both legally culpable for the killing, but argued that its violent nature should not be considered in aggravation because the prosecution failed to prove that defendant was the person [who] inflicted Bryant's wounds. Counsel essentially urged jurors to infer from the lack of such evidence that Schultz was the actual killer. Under the circumstances, there is little chance the jury ascribed to defendant a personal role in the 1984 Michigan murder beyond that demonstrated by the evidence.