Jones v. United States, 527 U.S. 373, 6 (1999)

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378

JONES v. UNITED STATES

Opinion of the Court

two statutory aggravators that established petitioner's death eligibility, the jury also unanimously found two aggravators of the nonstatutory variety 2 had been proved: One set forth victim impact evidence and the other victim vulnerability evidence.3 As for mitigating factors, at least one juror found 10 of the 11 that petitioner proposed and seven jurors wrote in a factor petitioner had not raised on the Special Findings Form.4

2 The term "nonstatutory aggravating factor" is used to refer to any aggravating factor that is not specifically described in 18 U. S. C. § 3592. Section 3592(c) provides that the jury may consider "whether any other aggravating factor for which notice has been given exists." Pursuant to § 3593(a), when the Government decides to seek the death penalty, it must provide notice of the aggravating factors that it proposes to prove as justifying a sentence of death.

3 As phrased on the Special Findings Form, the nonstatutory aggravating factors read:

"3(B). Tracie Joy McBride's young age, her slight stature, her background, and her unfamiliarity with San Angelo, Texas.

"3(C). Tracie Joy McBride's personal characteristics and the effect of the instant offense on Tracie Joy McBride's family constitute an aggravating factor of the offense." App. 53.

4 The mitigating factors that the jury found as set forth on the Special Findings Form (along with the number of jurors that found for each factor in brackets) are as follows:

"1. That the defendant Louis Jones did not have a significant prior criminal record." [6]

"2. That the defendant Louis Jones' capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of the defendant's conduct or to conform to the requirements of law was significantly impaired, regardless of whether the capacity was so impaired as to constitute a defense to the charge." [2]

"3. That the defendant Louis Jones committed the offense under severe mental or emotional disturbance." [1]

"4. That the defendant Louis Jones was subjected to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse as a child (and was deprived of sufficient parental protection that he needed)." [4]

"5. That the defendant Louis Jones served his country well in Desert Storm, Grenada, and for 22 years in the United States Army." [8]

"6. That the defendant Louis Jones is likely to be a well-behaved inmate." [3]

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