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State v. Biegenwald3/5/1987
y fitting for the moral, factual, and legal judgment of judges and juries to play a meaningful role in sentencing."). If anywhere in the criminal law a defendant is entitled to the benefit of the doubt, it is here. We therefore hold that as a matter of fundamental fairness the jury must find that aggravating factors outweigh mitigating factors, and this balance must be found beyond a reasonable doubt.
There is persuasive legislative history for the position that the Legislature, despite the statutory language, intended to
require that aggravating factors outweigh mitigating factors before the death penalty could be imposed. At a public hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Edwin Stier, then Director of the Division of Criminal Justice in the Department of Law and Public Safety, testified concerning Senate Bill 112 (May 20, 1982) (the bill that led to the enactment of the Act). It is clear from the questioning that the Committee was looking to Mr. Stier both for analysis and guidance and that his views were highly regarded. Numerous suggestions he made were adopted by the Committee. At a point when the question of the burden of proof of aggravating and mitigating factors was being discussed, Mr. Stier, having suggested that the Bill's original requirement that mitigating factors be established "by a preponderance of the evidence" be eliminated, was asked, "Basically, you have eliminated that. Have you replaced it with anything? If not, what is the test? The trial judge is sitting there and he is asking himself." Mr. Stier's response was:
What we have tried to do is to establish the State's burden beyond a reasonable doubt, to establish sufficient aggravating factors to outweigh the mitigating factors which exist. The defendant has no burden of proof on those mitigating factors. That is what we intended to do with this. (Emphasis added.)
Shortly thereafter the following question was posed: "Now, the ultimate test is, do the aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating. I raise the point I am raising now just to make sure we don't have some trial judge that may be as confused as we lawyers here saying, 'What do they intend?' I raise that, Ed [Stier], because I want to know if you see any need to spell it out anymore?" Mr. Stier responded:
At this point, I can't say that I do. I think what we have here is a situation in which the proceeding according to the way the bill is drafted would proceed as follows: the jury would have to find any aggravating factors beyond a reasonable doubt. Factually they would have to find those factors beyond a reasonable doubt. And, then they would weigh those aggravating factors against the mitigating factors. And, if they found that the aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating factors, they would impose the death penalty. Procedurally, that is how it would occur. (Emphasis added.)
The interpretation of the original version of the Act to require that the aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating
beyond a reasonable doubt is also strongly supported by the recently passed amendment, L. 1985, c. 178. The initial statement accompanying Senate Bill 950, introduced by Senator Russo in the 1984 session of the Legislature, says: "This bill is intended to clarify several procedural aspects of the capital punishment statute. Those clarifications are as follows: . . . 5. clarify that aggravating factors must outweigh any mitigating factors in order for a death sentence to be imposed." S.Stat. to S.950 at 1 (March 1, 1984) (emphasis added). The Bill also required that the balance be proven beyond a reasonabl
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