“ As used in Walton, the "presumption" that a trial court has followed the law stands only for the proposition that error cannot be inferred where a trial court, acting as the initial sentencer, fails expressly to articulate its reliance on a limiting construction of what would otherwise be an unconstitutional aggravating factor. However, this presumption is clearly rebutted when, as here, the trial court erroneously instructs a sentencing jury by omitting any reference to the necessary limiting construction. ”

“ Thus, the question at that stage is whether a reviewing court has taken the steps necessary to correct sentencing error. In holding that the trial court's summary denial of petitioner's postsentence motion sufficed to cure the trial court's erroneous jury instructions in this case, the Missouri Supreme Court established a "presumption" that a reviewing court perceives and corrects all errors when it resentences a defendant to death. ”

“ Arizona, supra, 110 S.Ct. at 3051; Clemons v. Mississippi, supra, at 1451; Maynard v. Cartwright, supra, 486 U.S., at 363-364, 108 S.Ct., at 1859; Godfrey v. Georgia, supra, 446 U.S., at 427-429, 100 S.Ct., at 1764-1765 (plurality opinion) . ”