Is a defendant's instruction in a death penalty case inadequate when it refers to the use of the term "warrants", or does the term need to be changed?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from The People v. Russell, No. RIF72974, S075875 (Cal. 2010):
Defendant next contends that the instruction's use of the term "warrants" was inadequate because jurors are called upon to decide whether death is the "appropriate" penalty, not whether it is warranted. We rejected an identical argument in People v. Breaux, concluding that the "contention is spurious." (People v. Breaux, supra, 1 Cal.4th
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