California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Dapremont, B299366 (Cal. App. 2020):
The jury may infer the requisite " 'torturous intent' " " 'from the circumstances of the crime, the nature of the killing, and the condition of the victim's body. [Citation.]' [Citation.]" (People v. Hajek and Vo (2014) 58 Cal.4th 1144, 1187, fn. omitted.)
Torturous intent " 'is a state of mind which, unless established by the defendant's own statements (or by another witness's description of a defendant's behavior in committing the offenses), must be proved by the circumstances surrounding the commission of the offense [citations], which include the nature and severity of the victim's wounds.' [Citation.]" (People v. Smith (2015) 61 Cal.4th 18, 52.)
"[E]vidence that the defendant intentionally inflicted nonlethal wounds on the victim may demonstrate the requisite
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' " sadistic intent to cause the victim to suffer pain in addition to the pain of death." ' [Citations.]" (People v. Hajek and Vo, supra, 58 Cal.4th at p. 1188.) Such wounds support a finding of intent because they "evidence[ ] deliberate and gratuitous violence beyond that which was necessary to kill the victim." (Ibid.)
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