Russell Peeler gets death, jury asks interesting question
http://apublicdefender.com/2007/10/15/russell-peeler-gets-death-jury-asks-interesting-question/
For the second time, a jury sentenced Russell Peeler to death for ordering his brother to kill a woman and her son days before the son was scheduled to testify against Peeler in a different prosecution.
The jury, however, may have created an appellate issue. Earlier in the day, they sent a note to the judge asking:
if they find the aggravating factors outweigh mitigating factors, can they find a life sentence for Peeler is enough?
The judge responded in the negative and the jury returned with a verdict of death. The statute says, in essence, that if the aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating factors, then the sentence is death. However, in State v. Rizzo [pdf], the Supreme Court held that (at page 242):
