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State v. Bondurant3/20/1998
Id., slip op. at 26-27 (citations omitted). However, we are reminded by our supreme court that proportionality review is not a "rigid, objective test" that utilizes "mathematical or scientific techniques." Id., slip op. at 28. A reviewing court relies upon the "experienced judgment and intuition of its own members." Id. Finally, a sentence is not disproportionate unless "the case taken as a whole is plainly lacking in circumstances consistent with those in cases where the death penalty has been imposed." Id.
Of the enumerated factors pertaining to the crime in the present case, the means and manner of the clubbing death are important factors. The defendant's apparent motive was grounded in nothing more redeeming than misguided anger over his perception that the victim stole his wallet, exacerbated by the perception that the victim cheated while the two were playing cards. The victim was not a member of any ethnic or minority group and was neither of an immature age nor infirm because of advancing years. At the time of the killing, both men had consumed alcohol. Although the issue of premeditation was contested, the jury found the murder was premeditated. Any claims to provocation the defendant might have made should have been barred solely on anger, but any such claims would have been belied by his prior threats to harm the victim. There were no victims of the defendant's criminal acts other than the decedent-victim.
Of the factors pertaining to the defendant, the defendant's prior criminal record, significantly, included a previous conviction of second-degree murder. The victim and the defendant were of the same race, gender, and general age grouping. The defendant suffered from various emotional and physical health problems, many of which emanated from the presence of many forms of chemicals he had injected into his body. The defendant was the sole perpetrator of a crime for which he provided no assistance to the police and showed absolutely no remorse. His knowledge of the helplessness of the victim and his capacity for rehabilitation are, as far as this court is concerned, unknown.
With these dynamics in mind, we have examined the pertinent cases that have progressed through the Tennessee appellate courts since 1979. We find the cases summarized below to be instructive. In each case where the death penalty was imposed, it was not found to be disproportionate.
In Morris, the victim's skull was crushed, and then his body was submerged in water then dragged through underbrush to be concealed in a remote location. The defendant was 26, the victim was 27. The defendant was previously convicted of manslaughter. The jury found the presence of aggravating factors (2) and (7). Morris, 641 S.W.2d at 883. In affirming the conviction and sentence, the supreme court observed that Morris robbed the victim and then "the perpetrator of the brutal murder in this case attempted to conceal the body and the evidence of the crime." Id. at 890.
In State v. Caldwell, 671 S.W.2d 459 (Tenn. 1984), Caldwell and the victim were engaged in a drinking bout that erupted into violence when the victim threw whiskey into Caldwell's face. Caldwell then fired a shotgun twice into the victim's head and then proceeded to conceal the body. The defendant was 34, the victim 31. Both men were white. The jury found the presence of aggravating factor (2), based upon the defendant having been convicted previously of first-degree murder. This factor outweighed two mitigating factors.
In State v. Martin, 702 S.W.2d 560 (Tenn. 1985), overruled on other grounds, State v. Brown, 836 S.W.2d 530 (Tenn. 1992),our supreme court reversed the conviction due to Sandstrom error, but it overr
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