Court Opinion

ID: 9855449
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:25:01.17543+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:35:43.312329
License: Public Domain

Gregory, Justice,
concurring specially.
I concur in the judgment of the majority opinion. However, I would reach that judgment through different rationale than that *621stated in Division 9. I would hold that the testimony of Linda Gail Elrod is admissible as a necessary corollary to established Eighth Amendment jurisprudence.
In death penalty cases a constitutional requirement exists that the sentencer focus on the character of the individual defendant. It is on this basis, together with the circumstances of the offense, that the jury or the judge must decide between life and death for a defendant who is within the death eligible class. Zant v. Stephens,_U. S._ (103 SC 2733, 77 LE2d 235) (1983). In order for this decision to properly be made the broadest scope of evidence reasonably capable of presentation, both favorable and unfavorable to the defendant, must be presented. We are not dealing with technical rules of evidence. We must determine the scope of information properly considered by the sentencer in deciding between life and death.
Once the position that the death penalty is a per se violation of the Eighth Amendment proscription against cruel and unusual punishment (see concurring opinion of Brennan, J., in Furman v. Georgia, 408 U. S. 238 (92 SC 2726, 33 LE2d 346) (1972)) was rejected, there evolved two basic criteria for testing the constitutionality of a death penalty statute. First, Furman, supra, held that the scope of the death eligible class itself must not be overbroad. The imposition of the death penalty for a petty offense would obviously violate this principle. The outer circle of the permissible death eligible class was ultimately drawn at those who commit intentional homicide. Enmund v. Florida, 458 U. S. 782 (102 SC 3368, 73 LE2d 1140) (1982).
Second is the criterion of individualization. It is unconstitutional to fix the scope of the death eligible class and make death mandatory for all who fall within the class. Woodson v. North Carolina, 428 U. S. 280 (96 SC 2978, 49 LE2d 944) (1976); Roberts v. Louisiana, 431 U. S. 633 (97 SC 1993, 52 LE2d 637) (1977). Every defendant has the right to be considered as an individual even though the crime committed brings him within the death eligible class. The death penalty may not be imposed without giving individual consideration to the character of the defendant. Who he or she is must be the subject of inquiry. It is unconstitutional to preclude consideration, as a mitigating factor, of any aspect of a defendant’s character. Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U. S. 586 (98 SC 2954, 57 LE2d 973) (1978); Eddings v. Oklahoma, 455 U. S. 104 (102 SC 869, 71 LE2d 1) (1982).
A selection must be made from among those in the death eligible class based upon a consideration of the individual character of a given defendant within the class. Those among the class differ from each other in both positive and negative aspects of character. The good and the bad must be known if an informed selection process is to take place. It might suffice in a single case to allow consideration only of positive aspects of character. After all, any error would be in favor of *622life. But, considered as a whole, the death penalty scheme depends upon the availability of full information (good and bad) in order that juries and judges make informed selections for the death penalty from those who are among the eligible. To withhold evidence of bad character in all cases would ultimately undermine the process because selection would proceed on less than adequate information. While the rules of evidence may exclude specific evidence in given instances, any rule with such a broad sweep as to exclude all evidence of prior crimes for which there has been no conviction would so limit the information available to the sentencer as to unlawfully restrict the individualization necessary under the Eighth Amendment. The system must allow access to this information in order to pass constitutional muster as a system.
Appendix.
Allen v. State, 253 Ga. 390 (321 SE2d 710) (1984); Felker v. State, 252 Ga. 351 (314 SE2d 621) (1984); Brown v. State, 250 Ga. 66 (295 SE2d 727) (1982); Messer v. State, 247 Ga. 316 (276 SE2d 15) (1981); Justus v. State, 247 Ga. 276 (276 SE2d 242) (1981); Green v. State, 246 Ga. 598 (272 SE2d 475) (1980); Cape v. State, 246 Ga. 520 (272 SE2d 487) (1980); Thomas v. State, 245 Ga. 688 (266 SE2d 499) (1980); Gates v. State, 244 Ga. 587 (261 SE2d 349) (1979); Brooks v. State, 244 Ga. 574 (261 SE2d 379) (1979); Collins v. State, 243 Ga. 291 (253 SE2d 729) (1979); Spraggins v. State, 243 Ga. 73 (252 SE2d 620) (1979); Davis v. State, 242 Ga. 901 (252 SE2d 443) (1979); Johnson v. State, 242 Ga. 649 (250 SE2d 394) (1978); Moore v. State, 240 Ga. 807 (243 SE2d 1) (1978); Gibson v. State, 236 Ga. 874 (226 SE2d 63) (1976); McCorquodale v. State, 233 Ga. 369 (211 SE2d 577) (1974).