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person just doesn't go off and do something without something precipitating it."


When asked whether Davis was under the influence of an extreme mental or emotional disturbance at the time of the murders, Dr. Krop testified that Davis "was in [a] dissociative state at the time which certainly reflects a person who is in considerable emotional distress. I feel that his judgment was compromised. And again in part because I can't see any rational motive for what happened, I would not use the word extreme." When asked if he was of the opinion that Davis was substantially impaired at the time of the crime, Dr. Krop answered, "I don't like to speculate on such an important issue. I think that certainly there was impairment there or else he would not have been dissociating, but to the degree is very difficult for me to provide at this time."


Psychiatrist Richard G. Dudley, Jr., testified for the defense as an expert in psychiatry. Dr. Dudley described the information about Davis's childhood as conflicting--ranging from Davis having had a normal childhood to him having experienced "pretty severe psychological abuse." Dr. Dudley explained that Davis's school record documented organic brain impairment, speech and language difficulties, depression, anxiety, and self-esteem issues. Dr. Dudley opined that Davis's behavioral and emotional problems were characteristic of children who have "lacked parenting [and] have been abused and neglected in various ways."


Dr. Dudley stated that Davis's psychological and emotional problems became







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worse in adolescence, when he began to experience "irrational fears," "irrational behaviors," and "parahypnotic sorts of experiences . . . before he goes to sleep where he's hearing these voices and then attaching certain sorts of meanings to that." Dr. Dudley opined that during adolescence, Davis became an unstable person, with a "fairly fragile kind of touch on what's real and what's not real." Dr. Dudley opined that when Davis was twenty years old, he was functioning at best like a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old.


When asked if he was able to form any opinion about Davis's mental health at the time of the murders, Dr. Dudley answered that Davis suffered from "pretty severe cognitive deficits" and "pretty severe borderline personality disorder," resulting in "vulnerability for transient deteriorations [and] brief psychotic episodes." Dr. Dudley opined that the combination of disorders constituted an "extreme and significant psychiatric condition." However, Dr. Dudley clarified that these disorders are a constant condition and that he did not have enough information to say if Davis experienced a psychotic deterioration at the time of the crime. He explained that, while stressful situations can trigger psychotic compensation or dissociative phenomena, "unless you're actually there when he's having [a dissociative episode] you're not able to confirm that he's having it."


Psychologist Dr. Phillip Randolph Yates testified for the defense as an expert in psychology and primarily discussed Davis's school career. Dr. Yates







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testified that in 1989, Davis was given an IQ test and received an overall score of




76. Dr. Yates opined that Davis suffered from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and that his behavior in school indicated frontal lobe problems.


He stated that Davis was intellectually two or three years behind his peers and academically six or seven years behind his peers when he quit school at the age of seventeen. Dr. Yates testified in detail about Davis's behavioral referrals in school, stating that most were for disobedience, such as not following the school's dress code, not following directions, and disrupting class, but that some were for more serious infractions, including a fist fight in September of 1998 and threatening a teacher in January of 2000.


In addition to these experts, the defense called two of Davis's former special education teachers, who testified that Davis was an unhappy child. Many of Davis's relatives and family friends testified about Davis's character and childhood. Only one relative, Davis's maternal aunt, Toni Rodriguez, testified that she had observed Davis act violently. Rodriguez testified that Davis sometimes fought with her son Pietro. Several of Davis's coworkers from the automobile lot where he worked as a detailer testified that Davis was polite, respectful, and a good worker. They testified that Davis had worked during the day on August 20, 2003, and had seemed normal. Finally, Davis again testified on his own behalf. He apologized to his family and the victims' family.







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In rebuttal, the State called four law enforcement officers from the JSO's Pretrial Detention Facility to testify about Davis's behavior after his arrest. Two officers testified that they observed Davis in fist fights with other inmates. The third officer testified that Davis broke a restraint chair. The fourth officer testified that Davis once put a toothpaste cap in his cell locking mechanism, causing the cell door to not lock properly.


On May 13, 2006, the jury recommended the death sentence for each murder by a nine-to-three vote. After conducting a hearing pursuant to Spencer v. State, 615 So. 2d 688 (Fla. 1993), the trial court sentenced Davis to death for both murders. State v. Davis, Case No. 16CFAXXX-MA (Fla. 4th Cir. order filed Aug. 15, 2006) (Sentencing Order). On each count, the trial court found and assigned weight to four aggravating factors,1 three statutory mitigating factors,2 and twenty-seven nonstatutory factors.3 Id. at 18-80.












1. The aggravating factors were: (1) Davis was previously convicted of another capital felony, based on the contemporaneous first-degree murders of Wren and Albin (accorded great weight); (2) Davis was engaged in the commission of the crime of burglary, based on Davis forcing his way into the victims' homes with the intent to commit, at minimum, an assault therein (accorded great weight); (3) the capital felonies were especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel (accorded great weight); and (4) the capital felonies were committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner (accorded great weight).









2. The statutory mitigating factors were: (1) Davis had no significant history of prior criminal activity (accorded little weight); (2) the capital felonies were committed while Davis was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional







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In this appeal, Davis challenges his death sentence but does not raise any guilt-phase claims. Davis argues that (A) the trial court erred by instructing the jury on the aggravating circumstance of cold, calculated, and premeditated (CCP),


disturbance (accorded some weight); and (3) Davis was twenty years old at the time of the offenses (accorded some weight).









3. The nonstatutory mitigating factors were: (1) Davis led law enforcement officers to the discovery of the crimes (accorded little weight); (2) Davis was remorseful (accorded slight weight); (3) Davis attended Job Corps (accorded slight weight); (4) Davis was a good, reliable worker (accorded slight weight); (5) Davis could continue to be a productive worker in prison (accorded little weight); (6) Davis was loved by his friends and family (accorded slight weight); (7) people who knew Davis found the crimes to be out of character for him (accorded slight weight); (8) Davis is a loving, valuable member of both sides of his extended family (accorded slight weight); (9) Davis's normal development was impaired by a dysfunctional extended family (accorded some weight); (10) Davis suffered from ADHD or ADD as a child (accorded little weight); (11) Davis suffered from a specific learning disability (accorded little weight); (12) Davis suffered from borderline personality disorder (accorded slight weight); (13) Davis suffered from congenital, organic brain damage in the frontal lobe (accorded some weight); (14) Davis suffered from significant cognitive and memory deficits (accorded little weight); (15) Davis had a low IQ (accorded some weight); (16) Davis could not finish high school or obtain his GED (accorded slight weight); (17) Davis was employed, contributed financially to his household, and acted as a mediator between his roommates (accorded slight weight); (18) Davis conducted himself well in court during trial (accorded slight weight); (19) Davis conducted himself well in court pretrial (accorded slight weight); (20) Davis was learning to devote himself to Christian principles while incarcerated (accorded slight weight); (21) Davis will function well in prison (accorded slight weight); (22) if not sentenced to death, Davis will spend his life in prison (accorded little weight); (23) society can be protected by life sentences without parole (accorded slight weight); (24) Davis had the support of his family and friends, who continue to love him (accorded slight weight); (25) Davis was troubled by the murders he committed (accorded slight weight); (26) Davis suffered physical and emotional abuse as a child (accorded some weight); and (27) the trial court was provided with a presentence investigation report that contained no new information (accorded slight weight).







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by allowing the prosecutor to argue this aggravator to the jury, and by finding this aggravating circumstance; (B) the trial court erred in failing to consider and weigh evidence of Davis's impaired capacity as a nonstatutory mitigating factor; (C) the trial court erred in allowing the prosecutor to argue that school fights and Davis's conduct in jail after the homicide could be used to reduce the weight of the mitigating circumstance of no significant history of prior criminal activity and in reducing the weight of this mitigating factor based on that evidence; (D) the death penalty is not warranted in this case; and (E) the trial court erred in sentencing Davis to death because Florida's capital sentencing proceedings are unconstitutional under the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution pursuant to Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584 (2002). In addition to considering Davis's arguments on appeal, this Court reviews the record to confirm that sufficient evidence supports the jury's verdict. See Fla. R. App. P. 9.142(a)(6).


II. ANALYSIS






A. CCP Aggravating Factor


Davis argues that the trial court erred in allowing the State to argue the CCP aggravating factor to the jury during closing statements, erred in instructing the jury on the factor, and erred in finding the factor to have been proven. To establish the CCP aggravator, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that (1) the killing was the product of cool and calm reflection and not an act prompted by







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emotional frenzy, panic, or a fit of rage (cold); (2) the defendant had a careful plan or prearranged design to commit murder before the fatal incident (calculated); (3) the defendant exhibited heightened premeditation (premeditated); and (4) the murder was committed with no pretext of legal or moral justification. §






921.141(5)(i), Fla. Stat. (2003); Pearce v. State, 880 So. 2d 561, 575-76 (Fla. 2004). "[O]ur task on appeal is to review the record to determine whether the trial court applied the right rule of law for each aggravating circumstance and, if so, whether competent substantial evidence supports its finding." Lynch v. State, 841 So. 2d 362, 368 (Fla. 2003) (quoting Way v. State, 760 So. 2d 903, 918 (Fla. 2000)).

In this case, the trial court based its finding that the CCP factor was proven in the murder of Wren on the following factual findings: Davis carried a knife with him to the victims' trailer; Davis walked approximately 600 yards to the trailer; Davis told law enforcement officers that he wore extra clothing because he wanted to be able to change out of bloody clothing before leaving the trailer; Davis carried with him a bag in which to place his bloody clothes; Davis sat on the victims' front steps for approximately two to thirty minutes contemplating his next actions; Davis hid the knife while knocking on the door; Davis forced his way into the trailer after asking Wren a few questions; Davis stopped stabbing Wren to stab Albin when she entered the room; Davis stabbed Wren sixteen times while she struggled; Davis
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