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Smith v. State12/22/2000
h evidence in recommending a sentence. Moreover, the court made clear to the jury that the enumerated proposed circumstances were merely examples of mitigation and that it could consider any other matter in mitigation. The trial court instructed the jury as follows:
"Alabama law lists some of the mitigating circumstances you may consider, but that list isn't a complete list of those mitigating circumstances which you may consider. Although this list isn't complete, I will read you some of the mitigating circumstances for your consideration: That the capital felony was committed while the defendant was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance; another mitigating circumstance, that the defendant acted under extreme duress or under the substantial domination of another person. Again, these are two I've listed for you. This list isn't complete.
"You can consider other mitigating circumstances not included in the list I've just given you, and such other circumstances shall include any aspect of the defendant's character or record or any circumstance of the offense as a basis for a sentence of life imprisonment without parole instead of death ... , and you can consider mitigating circumstances not included in the two that I gave you. You must only consider mitigating circumstances which arise from the evidence. When the State disputes the existence of a mitigating circumstance, it has the burden of disproving the existence of that circumstance by a preponderance of the evidence. This means that you are to consider that the mitigating circumstances exist unless taking the evidence as a whole is more likely than not that the circumstance doesn't exist." (R. 2107-11.)
"A mitigating circumstance is anything about Mr. Smith or the crime which in fairness and mercy should be taken into account in deciding punishment, even when there is no excuse or justification from the bare facts of the crime. Therefore, a mitigating circumstance may stem from any of the diverse frailties of humankind. Mitigating circumstances or any facts relating to Mr. Smith's age, character, education, environment, mentality, life and background, or any aspect of the crime itself, which may be considered extenuating or reducing his moral culpability or making him less deserving of the extreme punishment of death. And you may consider as a mitigating circumstance any circumstance that tends to justify the penalty of life imprisonment. You may consider all the evidence of mitigation and the weight which you give to a particular mitigating circumstance as a matter for your moral, factual, and legal judgment. However, you may not refuse to consider any evidence of mitigation, and, thereby, give it no weight." (R. 2127-29; emphasis added.)
"The Court charged you that you must consider the mitigating circumstances offered by the defendant. he list of mitigating circumstances, proper, can't limit your deliberations, since you are free to consider any aspect of the crime or of the character of the defendant as mitigating in your sole discretion. The following are, therefore, offered solely as examples of factors which you might consider to be mitigating. Number one, Mr. Smith never developed a father-son relationship with his natural father. ... Number five, Jerry Jerome Smith is borderline mentally retarded. Number six, Jerry Jerome Smith has a learning capacity of a third- grader. Number seven, Jerry Jerome Smith was on drugs and alcohol when this crime was committed. ... Number nine, Jerry Jerome Smith acted under duress when this crime was committed inasmuch as he believed his mother would be injured or killed. Number ten, his mother was an alcoholic. Number eleven, he first consumed alcoho
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