How have courts treated evidence presented at the penalty phase to negate the element of intent?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Silbertson, 221 Cal.Rptr. 152, 41 Cal.3d 296, 709 P.2d 1321 (Cal. 1985):

13 That there was additional evidence which might have been presented to negate the element of intent is revealed by defendant's testimony at the penalty phase. Although not part of the record at the guilt phase, we must consider this and any other potential evidence in determining whether the failure to instruct on intent to kill is reversible error. (See People v. Ramos (1984) 37 Cal.3d 136, 148, 207 Cal.Rptr. 800, 689 P.2d 430.) In view of the misunderstanding evidenced by part II of Justice Mosk's dissent, we emphasize that we do not refer to evidence offered at the penalty phase for the purpose of curing instructional error at the guilt phase. To the contrary, we point to such evidence to demonstrate that the prejudice that flowed from the error was not imaginary, but real.

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