In what circumstances will the trial court allow a defendant's sister to testify that she does not want him executed?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Smith, 107 P.3d 229, 25 Cal.Rptr.3d 554, 35 Cal.4th 334 (Cal. 2005):
In People v. Sanders (1995) 11 Cal.4th 475, 46 Cal.Rptr.2d 751, 905 P.2d 420, we concluded that the trial court did not err in refusing to permit the defendant's sister to testify that she did not want him executed. We rejected the argument that the evidence
[25 Cal.Rptr.3d 577]
was admissible under factor (k) of section 190.3, which allows admission of evidence relating to any aspect of a defendant's character or record that the defendant proffers as a basis for a sentence less than death. "The specific questions whether family members would prefer that defendant not be executed," we said, "are not ... strictly relevant to the defendant's character, record, or individual personality." (People v. Sanders, supra, 11 Cal.4th at p. 546, 46 Cal.Rptr.2d 751, 905 P.2d 420.) Three years later, however, we held in People v. Ochoa (1998) 19 Cal.4th 353, 456, 79 Cal.Rptr.2d 408, 966 P.2d 442: "A defendant may offer evidence that he or she is loved by family members or others, and that these individuals want him or her to live.... [T]his evidence is relevant because it constitutes indirect evidence of the defendant's character."[25 Cal.Rptr.3d 577]
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