The Role of Victimization as a Mitigating Factor in Penalty and Guilt Phases

In People v. Gonzales , 253 P.3d 185 (Cal. 2011), the Supreme Court of California considered an appeal by Veronica Utilia Gonzales regarding her guilt in murdering her four-year-old niece, with the special circumstances of torture (Cal. Penal Code § 190.2(a)(18) (1995)) and mayhem (Cal Penal Code