If a reviewing court finds that a number of mitigating circumstances are not sufficiently substantial to warrant leniency in a criminal case, what is the current state of the law?

In Richmond's case, the trial court found that there were a number of mitigating circumstances. See State v. Richmond, 136 Ariz. 312, 666 P.2d 57, 65 (1983). It was only by comparing them to the aggravating circumstances that the sentencer concluded that they were not sufficiently substantial to warrant leniency. If a reviewing court's analysis reduces the number of valid aggravating circumstances, it reduces the weight and gravity of the aggravating factors that the sentencer may permissibly consider. The reviewing court can no longer rely on an earlier finding that the mitigating circumstances were not sufficiently substantial to call for leniency. A new balancing must be conducted in order to determine whether the mitigating circumstances are sufficiently substantial in relation to the remaining valid aggravating factors.