Does a brain damaged defendant have to be sentenced to life without parole rather than death?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Gotell, D064206 (Cal. App. 2014):

who commit capital offense must be sentenced to life without parole, not death]; Crook v. State (Fla. 2005) 908 So.2d 350, 358-359 [for constitutional proportionality reasons, death sentence reduced to life without parole for brain-damaged defendant].) These sentencing dispositions implicitly recognize that in appropriate circumstances it is not cruel or unusual punishment to send a defendant with mental deficits to prison for the rest of his or her life.

The judgment is affirmed.

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