Can a trial judge modify a jury's death verdict?

Significantly, our death penalty statute expressly gives the trial judge the discretion to modify a jury's death verdict. Indeed, a defendant whom a [42 Cal.3d 1298] jury has sentenced to death is "deemed to have made an application for [such] modification...." ( 190.4, subd. (e).) And, it is reversible error for the trial court to fail to review independently the weight of the evidence presented at penalty phase and determine whether to reduce the verdict. (People v. Rodriguez (1986) 42 Cal.3d 730, 792-794, 230 Cal.Rptr. 667, 726 P.2d 113.) In light of these facts, the disparate sentence review procedure cannot be avoided on the ground that a reduction of the jury's verdict by the trial judge would "interfere" with the jury's function.