In what circumstances will a jury use the "attempted murder" of Deputy Smith to support the penalty of death?

Second, in deliberations one or more of the jurors could have used the "attempted murder" of Deputy Smith to support the penalty of death. The majority appear to assume that the evidence of the "crime" is not of critical importance on the facts of this case. It is manifest, however, that the prosecutor treated this evidence as crucial: he presented the "attempted murder" in his opening statement and alluded to it in his closing argument, and called five witnesses to prove the "crime"--two of whom testified about that "crime" and that "crime" alone. "There is no reason why we should treat this evidence as any less 'crucial' than the prosecutor--and so presumably [48 Cal.3d 967] the jury--treated it." (People v. Cruz (1964)

Page 261