What is the standard of response of a jury in a death penalty case where the jury is asked to consider the possibility of a Governor's commutation of a life without parole sentence?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Hovey, 244 Cal.Rptr. 121, 44 Cal.3d 543, 749 P.2d 776 (Cal. 1988):

We think the trial court's noncommittal response was sufficient, requiring the jury to follow the court's instructions and weigh the evidence without speculating on extraneous matters. In People v. Ramos, supra, 37 Cal.3d at page 159, footnote 12, 207 Cal.Rptr. 800, 689 P.2d 430, we considered a similar question arising in the context of the 1978 death penalty law, stating that when the jury itself raises the commutation issue during deliberations, "the matter obviously cannot be avoided and is probably best handled by a short statement indicating that the Governor's commutation power applies to both sentences [life without parole and death] but emphasizing that it would be a violation of the juror's duty to consider the possibility of such commutation in determining the appropriate sentence. (Cf. People v. Morse [1964] 60 Cal.2d

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