California Court of Appeal

Conviction of a defendant for torturing his son, committing aggravated mayhem on his son, and inflicting corporal injury, and a nine-year sentence are affirmed where: 1) defendant's trial counsel was not ineffective in failing to request a jury instruction that would have directed the jury to consider whether evidence of defendant's cultural background raised a reasonable doubt as to whether defendant had the requisite intent to inflict torture and aggravated mayhem on his son when defendant physically disciplined him; 2) defendant was not entitled to the jury instruction he now proposed because it would have constituted an improper comment on the evidence; and 3) trial court did not err in imposing separate punishment on the three counts of inflicting corporal injury on his son, and the single count of torturing his son.

Appellate Information

• Decided 10/15/2010
• Published 10/15/2010

Judges

• ROBIE

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Thea Greenhalgh, Edmund G. Brown, Jr.