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Grant of penalty phase relief

By Karl R. Keys, Esq.

Fernando Belmontes was granted penalty phase relief today by the Ninth Circuit. From that opinion: We affirm the district court?s ruling that Belmontes received deficient representation at the penalty phase of his trial, but set aside its ruling that he suffered no prejudice as a result. We hold that counsel?s failure to introduce adequate lay witness testimony regarding Belmontes?s childhood experiences and his failure to explain to the jury the consequences of the minimal mitigating evidence he did introduce was prejudicial, especially in light of the scant aggravating evidence and the uncertainty the jury indicated about the sentence itshould impose. We also hold that counsel?s failure to introduce expert witnesses to testify to the relationship of the type of childhood traumas suffered by Belmontes to future criminal conduct, and thus to offer important mitigating expert testimony was prejudicial and thus provides a separate and independent basis for reversal, again especially in light of the circumstances referred to above...continue to full post

Full post as published by Capital Defense Weekly on June 13, 2008 (boomark / email).