What is the test for a defendant to argue that the death penalty is disproportionate as applied to him?

Defendant insists the death penalty is disproportionate as applied to him. To the extent defendant seeks "comparative" or "intercase" proportionality review, we adhere to the position stated many times before that such review is not constitutionally compelled. (People v. Webb, supra, 6 Cal.4th 494, 536, 24 Cal.Rptr.2d 779, 862 P.2d 779, and cases cited.)

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To the extent defendant contends the penalty is disproportionate to his individual culpability (People v. Dillon (1983) 34 Cal.3d 441, 194 Cal.Rptr. 390, 668 P.2d 697), we reject the claim on the merits. Defendant murdered his mother in order to steal property from the family home, shooting her in the forehead from close range and, perhaps, while looking her in the eyes. Defendant then left his mother to bleed to death in the kitchen, where the body would be discovered by his father when he returned home from work. Defendant's claim of an accidental shooting was rejected by the jury and sentencing court. As noted by the court in denying the automatic motion to modify the death verdict, defendant's actions were "cold-blooded."

C. Cumulative Prejudice