Criminal Law in Colorado

Aimee Potter

CJC 2100

FIFTH ASSIGNMENT

Analyze, discuss and review Byford v. State, provided for you in the text on Page 294 to determine whether the result in Colorado would have been the same with respect to the conviction of first degree murder under Nevada law and the sentence to death. Then based on Colorado Law for sentencing for class one felonies and the offense of Murder in the First Degree and using the facts of the case: Explain the rationale for the decision process in the case (make certain that the discussion includes the four step analysis to determine life or death under CRS 18-1.3-1201.

In the case of Byford v. State Robert Byford was found guilty of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon, and sentenced to death. Byford and one of his friends, Williams, shot and killed Monica Wilkins on March 8, 1991, and continued to burn her body after killing her. A third party, Smith, was with the pair at the time of the murder, and testified against them.

Smith testified that Byford and Williams "...talked about getting rid of her..." [Wilkins] "...because she was always 'playing games with our heads" (Samaha, 294). After Wilkins was shot by William's, Byford took the gun and shot her twice in the head to "make sure the (bitch) was dead..." (Samaha, 294). Byford then poured gasoline over the body, and tried to get Smith to light it on fire with a lighter; Smith refused, so Byford lit the body. It was this conversation that led the court to "conclude that the evidence in this case is clearly sufficient to establish deliberation and premeditation on Byford's part" (Samaha, 295). The court also found that Byford had had time to pause after William's had shot Wilkins, which, "...was sufficient for the jurors to reasonably find that before acting to kill the victim Byford weighed the reasons for and against his action, considered its consequences, distinctly formed a design to kill, and did not act simply from a rash, unconsidered impulse" (Samaha, 296).

According to Nevada law, three critical elements "...willfulness, deliberation, and premeditation-must all be proven beyond a reasonable doubt before an accused can be convicted of first-degree murder" (Samaha, 296).

In regards to the sentencing in capital cases, the law mandates that there be a trial to determine the guilt of the accused, and a second proceeding, after a guilty verdict, to consider the aggravating or mitigating factors before imposing the death penalty. Aggravating factors may include the murder being "...committed by a convict under sentence of imprisonment (Samaha, 290), ...the murder involved torture or mutilation of the victim" (Samaha, 296). Mitigating factors may include "...the defendant's young age at the time of the crime" (Samaha, 291), "...the defendant has no significant history of criminal activity..." (Samaha, 290), or "...the defendant acted under duress or under the domination of another person..." (Samaha, 290).

According to Samaha, when the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstances, the death penalty can be imposed