parents and asking them for names of persons who knew Ponticelli as a child in New York. Ponticelli's parents provided him with the names of some of Ponticelli's teachers, prior employers, and family members, but it does not appear that counsel contacted any of them. Counsel did not attempt to gather Ponticelli's school or medical records, and he testified at the evidentiary hearing that he had only a partial view of Ponticelli's drug use and background at the time of trial.
During the penalty phase, defense counsel called one witness, Dr. Robin Mills. Dr. Mills was one of the three court-appointed mental health experts who evaluated Ponticelli before trial and testified at the August 2, 1988, competency hearing. Mills was the only mental health expert who testified that Ponticellithe guilt phase. Ultimately, when imposing its sentence, the trial court did not find either statutory mental health mitigator because it found that, given the lack of evidence supporting Ponticelli's cocaine use within twenty-four hours of the crime, Mills' testimony was speculative.
In addition, a number of lay witnesses testified at the evidentiary hearing to Ponticelli's positive characteristics and the severe, adverse effect cocaine had on him. Family and friends described Ponticelli as a loving, docile child who had a difficult time fitting in during adolescence and whose personality changed during high school when he became involved in significant cocaine use. Approximately three years before the homicides, Ponticelli moved to Florida with his parents, and friends testified that he did not abuse cocaine at this time. Three or four