§3592 Mitigating and Aggravating Factors to Be Considered in Determining Whether a Sentence of Death Is Justified

Summary

When deciding whether to impose the death penalty, the jury or judge must look at anything that makes the defendant less blameworthy. These include things like serious problems that made the person unable to tell right from wrong or control their actions, acting under extreme pressure or threats, having a minor role while others led the crime, others equally guilty not being sentenced to death, no significant prior criminal history, committing the act while under severe mental or emotional disturbance, the victim’s consent, and any other facts about the defendant’s background, character, record, or the crime that argue against giving death. The jury or judge must also consider any factors that make death more likely. For espionage or treason, examples are a prior espionage/treason conviction (where life or death was allowed), knowingly creating a grave risk to national security, or knowingly creating a grave risk of death. For homicide and drug-death cases, the list covers many situations such as death occurring during certain serious federal crimes (for example, terrorism or aircraft piracy), prior violent convictions involving a firearm punishable by more than 1 year, prior convictions for crimes that allowed life or death, two or more prior serious convictions on different occasions, creating a grave risk of death to others, especially cruel or torturous killings, paying or killing for money, substantial planning or premeditation, distributing drugs to persons under 21 or near schools, using minors in trafficking, prior drug convictions punishable by 5 or more years, mixing drugs with a lethal adulterant when the defendant knew it, intentionally killing or trying to kill more than one person in one episode, and any other aggravating factors the prosecution has given notice of.