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Smith v. State12/22/2000
's brief, p. 34).
Turning to the appellant's allegations of excluded facts, we make the following observations from the evidence at the guilt and sentencing phases:
1. Alcoholism of the appellant's mother and a sister: Clearly, the evidence established that the appellant's mother was an alcoholic and that she was rarely sober. The evidence also strongly indicated that one or more siblings abused alcohol and drugs: the appellant was drinking alcohol and using drugs with his siblings when 8 years old and, at 14, lived with his oldest sister, who was using drugs and alcohol. (The evidence established that the appellant's father was also an alcoholic.)
2. Incarceration/conviction of the appellant's father: The appellant testified that he had no relationship with his father, an alcoholic, who "stayed in jail most of the time and basically couldn't hold a job down." (R. 2016.)
3. Inability of the appellant's parents to protect and to provide a healthy home environment for the appellant and his siblings: The evidence was abundant in this regard. We note, as examples, the testimony that his mother was an alcoholic, has a fourth-grade education, and was the only parent in the household; that he had no relationship with his father, who was also an alcoholic, was frequently incarcerated, could never come around the appellant because his mother would not allow it, and could not hold down a job; that his grandmother, who was ill, looked after him; that he had no one to discipline him; that he was sexually abused by an older cousin when he was 12; that his oldest brother had also been molested; that his sister became pregnant at 13; that he witnessed physically violent altercations between his parents during which they would cut each other; that the abuse of alcohol and drugs by him and his siblings started when he was 8 years old; that his cousins in New Jersey supplied him with drugs, starting when he was 12; and that, when he was 15, he lived with his oldest sister who was abusing drugs and alcohol.
4. Inability of the appellant's siblings to offer him sustenance because they also suffered from neglect and "other ills": Obviously, the appellant's siblings also suffered from the dysfunctional home environment noted above. Moreover, evidence of the siblings' own handicaps was strong. For example, evidence was introduced of his siblings' abuse of alcohol and drugs; of a brother's serious mental illness; of a sister's pregnancy when she was 13 years old; of siblings' incarcerations; of a sister's mental retardation; and of his oldest brother's mental retardation.
5. Mental retardation of a brother: The appellant testified that his oldest brother was mentally retarded. (Dr. D'Enrico also testified that the appellant's brother J.S. had informed him that one of their sisters suffered from mental retardation for which she received Social Security disability income.) In specific regard to the appellant's assertion that the fact of his brother's mental retardation would have lent more credence to the defense expert's finding that the appellant is mentally retarded on the theory that mental retardation is a hereditary factor, we note that, before any discussion on excluding evidence about the appellant's siblings, defense counsel informed the court that the appellant was to be the only witness on his behalf. Without testimony from an expert witness as to a genetic link for mental retardation, counsel could not have made any arguments regarding the hereditary nature of mental retardation.
6. Siblings' incarceration: The appellant testified that his oldest brother had been incarcerated. (The prosecutor's objection to this evidence was sustained, but
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