State of Arizona, Appellee v. Charles Michael Hedlund, Appellant.

Summary

The court conducted a new independent review of Hedlund's death sentence, limited to reconsidering mitigation without imposing a causal-nexus requirement and reweighing it against the established pecuniary-gain aggravator. It held that the court had jurisdiction to conduct the review, that the Sixth Amendment did not require resentencing before a jury, and that the mitigation was not sufficiently substantial to warrant leniency. The court therefore affirmed the death sentence.