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Supreme Court upholds Calif. death penalty

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court Monday upheld the death penalty imposed on a California man for a brutal 1981 killing.

The court, in a 5-4 vote, found that California's "catchall" instruction on mitigating factors in capital cases is constitutional, Scotusblog reported. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion, which was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

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Fernando Belmontes' death sentence was reversed by a federal appeals court. But the justices agreed with the California Supreme Court and a federal district court in reinstating it.

Belmontes, now 45, was convicted of beating a young woman to death during a burglary. His lawyers argued that the instructions left the jury confused as to how to weigh mitigating factors, including Belmontes' brutalized childhood, against the aggravating ones.

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