Court Opinion

ID: 9623321
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 06:31:17.974832+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:05:28.379229
License: Public Domain

GORDON, Justice
(specially concurring):
Although I would affirm both the judgment and sentence, I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that the killing of the Thumms was committed in expectation of the receipt of something of pecuniary value. Reading former A.R.S. § 13-454E(4) and (5) together, I believe that the Legislature intended only to include the situation where defendant is a hired killer.
A.R.S. § 13-454E(4) and (5) provides: “4. The defendant procured the commission of the offense by payment, or promise of payment, of anything of pecuniary value.
“5. The defendant committed the offense as consideration for the receipt, or in expectation of the receipt, of anything of pecuniary value.”
Paragraph 4 applies to the procurer of the offense whether he has paid the killer prior to the offense or has promised to pay after the murder has been committed. Paragraph 5 parallels the preceding paragraph by applying to the killer whether he has been paid at the time of the offense or expects to receive payment in the future.
By extending the meaning of A.R.S. § 13-454E(5) to the instant case, the majority has included a killing in the perpetration of a robbery as an aggravating circumstance. The Legislature, had it so intended, could have accomplished this result with more precise, specific language.