Opinion ID: 1058076
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Helen Pruitt

Text: On defense counsel's Batson objection to the State's challenge of Ms. Pruitt, the prosecutor stated, This is the one I challenged because when I was questioning her, Judge, her eyes, she looked like she was going to cry to the point that I backed off asking her questions because she was sitting on the far side over there and I really felt that she was about to break out in tears and I backed off and I noticed when she was going into the jury box she got teary-eyed again and was shaking her head no. That's the reason. Defense counsel replied, Your Honor, we just want for the record that's the eighth African-American person and it's the seventh African-American woman stricken. The prosecutor retorted that they still have four [7] on there, and the trial court ruled that the State's reason for challenging Ms. Pruitt was not racially motivated. The State lodged no further peremptory challenges. The Report of Trial Judge in Capital Cases, filed by the trial court pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 12.1 (the Rule 12 Report), indicates that seven of the twelve jurors that decided Defendant's case were white. As noted previously, this Court has instructed trial courts that, when making a determination regarding a Batson objection, they must carefully articulate specific reasons for each finding on the record, i.e., whether a prima facie case has been established; whether a neutral explanation has been given; and whether the totality of the circumstances support a finding of purposeful discrimination. Woodson, 916 S.W.2d at 906. Thus, we are initially constrained to point out that the trial court's findings on Defendant's Batson objections at trial are barely adequate to permit our review. After each of defense counsel's objections, the trial court failed to make a specific finding that a prima facie case of purposeful discrimination had been made. Nevertheless, the prosecutor's response to each objection clearly implies that the trial court expected the State to proffer its reasons for challenging the subject venire person. That is, after each Batson objection by defense counsel, the trial court indicated in some fashion that the second prong of the Batson analysis was called into play. Thus, we assume that the trial court determined that, as to each of these five venire persons, Defendant had made out a prima facie case of impermissible discrimination. See Woodson, 916 S.W.2d at 905 (even where trial court made no explicit finding that the objecting party had made out a prima facie case, it was appropriate to conclude that the trial court had done so because [o]therwise, the court would not have required [the striker] to explain the challenge). Nor did the trial court offer much commentary on the State's proffered reasons for its strikes, or render detailed findings about its reasons for overruling each of Defendant's Batson claims. We are especially concerned about the trial court's failure to make specific findings in light of the United States Supreme Court's recent decision in Miller-El II. Although decided after the trial of this case, Miller-El II demonstrates the importance of a complete record and comprehensive findings by the trial court. In Miller-El II, the United States Supreme Court expounded on the methodology used to assess a Batson claim. In that case, the defendant was tried and convicted on a capital murder charge and sentenced to death. 125 S.Ct. at 2322. During jury selection, the prosecution used peremptory strikes against ten qualified African-American venire men. Id. The defendant argued, and the Court agreed, that the prosecution's challenges were racially motivated. Id. at 2340. In analyzing the defendant's claim, the Court engaged in an exhaustive and fact-intensive inquiry, relying upon not only the transcript of the voir dire, but the completed juror questionnaires and the juror cards utilized by the prosecution. [8] As it examined the extensive evidence before it, the Court noted numerous factors indicative of the prosecution's impermissible motive in challenging the black venire members. Initially, the Court pointed to the fact that the prosecution had peremptorily struck ten of the eleven, or 91%, of the eligible African-American venire members. Id. at 2325. What it found [m]ore powerful than these bare statistics, however, were the results of side-by-side comparisons of some black venire panelists who were struck and white panelists allowed to serve. Id. In making these comparisons, the Court determined that, [i]f a prosecutor's proffered reason for striking a black panelist applies just as well to an otherwise-similar nonblack who is permitted to serve, that is evidence tending to prove purposeful discrimination to be considered at Batson's third step. Id. Thus, disparate treatment of potential jurors who responded similarly to similar questions may be indicative of impermissible discrimination where the only significant difference between the persons is their race. Another factor indicative of the prosecution's improper motive was its disparate questioning of the venire members, depending upon the member's race. The Court found that, for 94% of the white members, the prosecutors gave a bland description of the death penalty before asking for individual feelings on the subject. Id. at 2334. Only 47% of the African-American venire members heard the bland description, with the remaining 53% hearing what the Court described as a graphic script. Id. The Court appeared to agree with the defendant that the prosecution used this tactic in an attempt to prompt some expression of hesitation to consider the death penalty and thus to elicit plausibly neutral grounds for a peremptory strike of a potential juror subjected to it, if not a strike for cause. Id. at 2333. A second form of disparate questioning involved what the Court described as trickery. Id. at 2337. The Court elucidated: The prosecutors asked members of the panel how low a sentence they would consider imposing for murder. Most potential jurors were first told that Texas law provided for a minimum term of five years, but some members of the panel were not, and if a panel member then insisted on a minimum above five years, the prosecutor would suppress his normal preference for tough jurors and claim cause to strike. Id. The State conceded that the manipulative questioning was used to create cause to strike, but claimed that the five-year information was omitted not on the basis of race, but on stated opposition to or ambivalence about the death penalty. Id. The Court found, however, that, while all African-American panel members who had expressed opposition to or ambivalence about the death penalty were asked the trick question, most white panel members who expressed similar opposition or ambivalence were not subjected to it. Id. The Court then stated, [o]nce again, the implication of race in the prosecutors' choice of questioning cannot be explained away. Id. at 2338. In addition to examining the questions asked and treatment of venire members, the Supreme Court relied upon history: We know that for decades leading up to the time this case was tried prosecutors in the Dallas County office had followed a specific policy of systematically excluding blacks from juries. . . . Id. In the Miller-El II case, the prosecutors had marked the race of each venire member on their juror cards and took their cues [on jury selection] from a 20-year old manual of tips which included reasons for excluding minorities from jury service. [9] Id. at 2339-40. The Court concluded: It blinks reality to deny that the State struck Fields and Warren . . . because they were black. The strikes correlate with no fact as well as they correlate with race, and they occurred during a selection infected by shuffling and disparate questioning that race explains better than any race-neutral reason advanced by the State. The State's pretextual positions confirm [the defendant's] claim, and the prosecutors' own notes proclaim that the Sparling Manual's emphasis on race was on their minds when they considered every potential juror. The state court's conclusion that the prosecutors' strikes of Fields and Warren were not racially determined is shown up as wrong to a clear and convincing degree; the state court's conclusion was unreasonable as well as erroneous. Id. at 2340. The Court thereupon granted the defendant's claim for habeas corpus relief. Id. In contrast to Miller-El II, the sole indication of purposeful impermissible discrimination by the State in this case is the fact that each of the peremptory challenges used by the State was employed against an African-American venire person. [10] A close examination of the record convinces us, however, that the prosecution's exercise of these challenges was for race-neutral reasons. With respect to the State's proffered reasons for its challenges, the prosecutor maintained that, with respect to Ms. Ferguson, Mr. Woods, Ms. McKinnie, and Ms. Heard, he was challenging each of these venire persons based upon his or her convictions about the death penalty. According to the State, each of these persons had indicated some personal or religious disinclination to sentence an individual to death. This is certainly a facially race-neutral reason for exercising a peremptory challenge against a potential juror in a capital case. As to Ms. Pruitt, the prosecutor stated that he excused her because, while he was questioning her, she looked as though she was going to cry. She later became teary-eyed again and was shaking her head no. We are satisfied that the prosecutor also provided a facially race-neutral reason for his challenge to this juror. The trial court ultimately determined that, under all the circumstances, Defendant failed to establish purposeful discrimination. Because the core issue is the prosecutor's discriminatory intent, or lack thereof, the trial court's finding `largely will turn on evaluation of credibility.' State v. Ellison, 841 S.W.2d 824, 827 (Tenn.1992) (quoting Batson, 476 U.S. at 98 n. 21, 106 S.Ct. 1712). Both this Court and the United States Supreme Court have previously recognized that `[t]here will seldom be much evidence bearing on th[e] issue [of discriminatory intent], and the best evidence often will be the demeanor of the attorney who exercises the challenge.' Id. (quoting Hernandez v. New York, 500 U.S. 352, 365, 111 S.Ct. 1859, 114 L.Ed.2d 395 (1991) (plurality opinion)). Obviously, we are in no position to second-guess the trial court's assessment of the prosecutor's demeanor unless the record, as it did in Miller-El II, contains clear objective indications that the prosecutor's averments concerning his or her reasons for challenging a juror are simply not credible. We remain cognizant of Batson's holding that the ultimate burden of establishing purposeful discrimination lies with the party objecting to the peremptory challenge. 476 U.S. at 93, 106 S.Ct. 1712; see also Purkett, 514 U.S. at 768, 115 S.Ct. 1769 (recognizing that the ultimate burden of persuasion regarding racial motivation rests with, and never shifts from, the opponent of the strike). We must, examine, therefore, whether the record before us contains such strong evidence of impermissible discriminatory intent by the prosecution as to render clearly erroneous the trial court's determination that Defendant failed to establish purposeful discrimination by the prosecution in its peremptory challenges. Taking our cue from Miller-El II, we first examine the bare statistics in this case regarding jury selection. The State exercised eight of its available fifteen peremptory challenges. [11] All of them were against African-American persons. We do not know, however, how many eligible African-American venire members were available. Defense counsel exercised sixteen peremptory challenges, one of which was against an alternate. See Tenn. R.Crim. P. 24(e). The record indicates that the State lodged Batson objections to two of these challenges, one of them on the basis that the juror was white. The record indicates that at least one of the other venire persons excused by the defense was white, but we are unable to ascertain the race of the remaining fourteen venire persons peremptorily challenged by Defendant. The United States 2000 Census provides that 41% of the population of the county in which Defendant was tried is black or African-American. It is reasonable to infer, therefore, that a significant proportion of the venire panel was African-American. The Rule 12 Report further indicates that five of the eventual twelve jurors in this case were non-Caucasian. The State had seven peremptory challenges remaining to it at the time the jury, including these five nonwhites, was sworn. These bare statistics do not, in and of themselves, convince us that the State's proffered race-neutral reasons for excusing the five named persons were merely pretextual. A close review of the transcript of the voir dire reveals no disparate treatment based on race. All but one of the eight persons peremptorily challenged by the State had expressed some hesitation about the death penalty. [12] No other person expressed such hesitation and was left unchallenged. That is, the State was completely successful in eliminating every potential juror who had indicated at some point in the process that he or she had reservations about imposing the death penalty. There is no indication in the record that any nonblack person who expressed hesitation about the death penalty was left unchallenged by the State. There is furthermore no indication in the record that the prosecution tailored its questions regarding the death penalty depending on the race of the targeted venire person(s). Nor does this Court observe any manipulative questioning by the State during voir dire which we would describe as trickery. Finally, there is nothing before us to indicate that the prosecutors in Hardeman County have ever followed a specific policy of systematically excluding African-Americans from juries. Certainly, more thorough findings by the trial court upon Defendant's Batson objections would have been helpful in our review of this issue. However, our close and careful review of the record before us convinces us that there is no basis for us to determine that the trial court erred during the third step of the Batson analysis. This Court has previously recognized that a juror's reservations about the death penalty may constitute a legitimate explanation for the State's exercise of a peremptory strike. See Smith, 893 S.W.2d at 914. As to the State's dismissal of Ms. Pruitt, we acknowledge that neutral explanations that are based on subjective assessments, such as the juror's demeanor, must be carefully scrutinized. State v. Carroll, 34 S.W.3d 317, 320 (Tenn.Crim.App.2000). We note, however, that defense counsel did not in any way indicate during the jury selection process that the prosecution's description of Ms. Pruitt's conduct in the jury box was inaccurate. A potential juror who verges on tears and shakes her head no during voir dire would, we are sure, prompt many a trial lawyer to exercise a peremptory challenge for legitimate reasons. Thus, we are confident that the trial court accurately assessed the prosecutor's credibility with regard to his explanations and properly determined that, under all the circumstances, Defendant had not established purposeful discrimination by the State in its exercise of its peremptory challenges. Accordingly, we hold that Defendant is not entitled to relief on this issue.
We turn now to Defendant's claim that the prosecution peremptorily challenged Ms. Prewitt, Ms. Heard, Ms. McKinnie, and Ms. Ferguson because of their gender. [13] In J.E.B. v. Alabama ex rel. T.B., 511 U.S. 127, 129, 114 S.Ct. 1419, 128 L.Ed.2d 89 (1994), the United States Supreme Court held that gender, like race, is an unconstitutional proxy for juror competence and impartiality. We analyze a party's claim that a peremptory challenge is impermissibly gender-based in the same manner as a claim that a challenge is racially motivated. See id. at 144-45, 114 S.Ct. 1419. Initially, we note that Defendant first lodged a Batson objection to a peremptory challenge by the State upon the prosecution's removal of Ida Ferguson. By this time in the proceedings, the State had peremptorily challenged Linda Pirtle, Gertrude Gibbs, and Johnny Hudson. Thus, the State used three of its first four peremptory challenges to remove women from the jury. The record does not indicate the specific basis for Defendant's Batson claim as to Ms. Ferguson. Nor do the trial court's findings indicate a specific ruling as to what type of prima facie case Defendant apparently made out. Nevertheless, the trial court determined that the State's rejection of Ms. Ferguson was permissible. We see nothing in the record before us to indicate that the trial court's conclusion in this regard was clearly erroneous. The State peremptorily challenged four more jurors, three of them female. Thus, of a total of eight peremptory challenges exercised by the prosecution, six were utilized against female venire persons, or 75%. However, as to each of the four women peremptorily challenged and to which Defendant lodged a Batson objection, the State proffered gender-neutral reasons for their removal. The trial court obviously determined that the State's proffered reasons were legitimate and not merely pretextual. The record before us does not convince us that the trial court thereby erred. The jury that tried Defendant included six female jurors. [14] The State had seven of its peremptory challenges remaining when the jury was empaneled. All but one of the venire persons peremptorily challenged by the State and to which Defendant lodged a Batson objection had indicated some disinclination to impose the death penalty. The other person, Ms. Pruitt, had exhibited a demeanor that caused the prosecutor to doubt her ability to sit on the jury in a composed manner. In sum, we are satisfied that the trial court's findings on Defendant's gender-based Batson claims are not clearly erroneous. Accordingly, Defendant is not entitled to relief on this issue.
Defendant also asserts in this appeal that the trial court erred in refusing to dismiss potential juror Barry Watkins for cause. The State disagrees. During the trial court's initial questioning of the venire, Mr. Barry Watkins responded that he knew something about the case. When asked for the source of his information, Mr. Watkins replied that one of his brothers worked at the prison where the killing occurred. Mr. Watkins stated, however, that the information he had obtained had not caused him to form an opinion about Defendant's guilt or innocence. Defense counsel subsequently requested a sequestered voir dire of Mr. Watkins, which the trial court granted. During this additional voir dire, defense counsel asked Mr. Watkins if he was a convicted felon. Mr. Watkins responded that he had been arrested but not convicted. He explained that more than twenty years earlier, he had been arrested for a robbery. While he was being held, they arrested the guy that did it. The charges against Mr. Watkins were then dismissed. He was under the impression that his arrest was still on record because he was not allowed to buy guns. [15] Mr. Watkins stated that Mr. Donald Watkins was his half-brother. Mr. Watkins explained that he knew his half-brother might be called as a prosecution witness, but maintained that that's all I knew. His half-brother told him that he would need to advise the court of their relationship. When asked by the court if this relationship would affect his judgment, Mr. Watkins replied, I can listen to the facts and what's been proven to me. He is my brother but he can be mistaken like anybody else. Mr. Watkins maintained that he would not give his relative's testimony any more weight or believability than that of the other witnesses. Mr. Watkins told the trial court that his brother had not told him what his testimony would be about, or what he claimed the facts to be. Mr. Watkins stated that he had not heard Defendant's name until today. Following this individual voir dire, defense counsel moved to strike Mr. Watkins for cause on the grounds that it's too hard to overcome the bias of your brother testifying in the State's case in chief. The trial court denied defense counsel's request. Defendant now contends that the trial court's ruling resulted in a violation of his constitutional rights to a fair and impartial jury. We are initially constrained to point out that Defendant did not raise this issue in his motion for new trial. Accordingly, this issue has been waived. See Tenn. R.App. P. 3(e) ([I]n all cases tried by a jury, no issue presented for review shall be predicated upon error in the admission or exclusion of evidence, jury instructions granted or refused, misconduct of jurors, parties or counsel, or other action committed or occurring during the trial of the case, or other ground upon which a new trial is sought, unless the same was specifically stated in a motion for a new trial; otherwise such issues will be treated as waived.). Nevertheless, because this is a capital case, and because this issue involves Defendant's fundamental constitutional rights to a fair and impartial jury, we choose to address it on the merits. Both the United States and Tennessee Constitutions guarantee criminal defendants the right to a trial by an impartial jury. U.S. Const. amend. VI; Tenn. Const. art. I, § 9. The impartial jury guaranteed by constitutional provisions is one which is of impartial frame of mind at the beginning of trial, is influenced only by legal and competent evidence produced during trial, and bases its verdict upon evidence connecting defendant with the commission of the crime charged. State v. Lawson, 794 S.W.2d 363, 367 (Tenn.Crim.App.1990). To protect this right, litigants have the right to lodge a propter affectum challenge for cause to a potential juror on the basis that he or she is biased or prejudiced for or against one of the parties. See Toombs v. State, 197 Tenn. 229, 270 S.W.2d 649, 650 (1954); State v. Akins, 867 S.W.2d 350, 355 (Tenn. Crim.App.1993). A propter affectum challenge should be upheld where some bias or partiality is either actually shown to exist or is presumed to exist from circumstances. Durham v. State, 182 Tenn. 577, 188 S.W.2d 555, 559 (1945). Circumstances justifying a presumption of bias include a juror's willful concealment of ulterior and prejudicial motives arising from his prior conviction and prior involvement as prosecuting witness in a case very similar to the defendant's, see id. at 559, and a juror's failure to disclose a very close familial relationship between the juror and the prosecuting attorney's wife, see Toombs, 270 S.W.2d at 651. In this case, the trial court overruled defense counsel's challenge for cause to Mr. Watkins after both the prosecution and defense counsel had an opportunity to closely question him during a period of sequestered voir dire and after the trial court itself probed Mr. Watkins' impartiality. The trial court was obviously satisfied that Mr. Watkins' relationship would not prevent or substantially impair the performance of his duties as a juror in accordance with his instructions and his oath. A determination of the qualifications of a juror rests within the sound discretion of the trial court. State v. Howell, 868 S.W.2d 238, 248 (Tenn.1993). We find no abuse of discretion in the trial court's refusal to excuse juror Watkins for cause in this case. Defendant relies heavily on the Court of Criminal Appeals' opinion in State v. Pamplin, 138 S.W.3d 283 (Tenn.Crim.App. 2003). In that case, the defendant was on trial for assaulting a city police officer and resisting arrest. One of the potential jurors was a county deputy sheriff who knew both the assaulted officer and the defendant. The deputy had previously served as a judicial commissioner for eight years and his sister-in-law worked for the district attorney. The deputy was a member of the same law enforcement agency as one of the prosecution's primary witnesses; indeed, the deputy was a subordinate employee of that witness. The deputy reported for jury duty in his uniform, including his badge and sidearm. The trial court denied the defendant's challenge to excuse the deputy from jury duty for cause. Because the defendant had exhausted all of his peremptory challenges, the deputy remained on the jury and was subsequently elected its foreman. On appeal, the intermediate appellate court determined that the trial court had committed manifest error in refusing to excuse the deputy juror, finding that his professional relationship and interest in the case was entirely too close to that of [the State's witness] and [the victim]. Id. at 286. The court noted not only the relationship between the deputy and the State's witnesses, but the nature of the case (involving an assault on a police officer) and the fact that the deputy served on the jury while in full uniform and wearing his sidearm. Id. The court emphasized that the jury selection process should endeavor to select jurors who are not only fair and impartial but are also free from the suspicion of impartiality. Id. at 287. We find the Pamplin case to be readily distinguishable from Defendant's. The combination of factors present in the Pamplin case created an egregious set of circumstances which are simply not present in the case before us. While we certainly agree that a close familial relationship between a juror and a witness may give rise to a suspicion of partiality, we are reluctant to conclude that a half-sibling connection is sufficient, in and of itself, to raise a presumption of bias so as to require a trial court to grant a propter affectum challenge. We recognize that many ties of kinship do not result in close relationships, and we are therefore unwilling to presume any particular level of bias arising from the familial relationship between Mr. Watkins and the State's witness. Rather, we agree with Maryland's high court on this point: Although the relationship of a juror to one of the witnesses may present an opportunity for prejudice, bias will not be presumed and the defendant is not relieved of the burden of presenting facts in addition to mere relationship which would give rise to a showing of actual prejudice. Bristow v. State, 242 Md. 283, 219 A.2d 33, 34 (1966); see also Bowman v. State, 598 S.W.2d 809, 812 (Tenn.Crim.App.1980) (recognizing that, when the challenged juror disclosed her social relationship with one of the prosecuting attorneys, [t]he burden is on the defendant to demonstrate that the juror was in some way biased or prejudiced because the prosecuting attorney testified as a rebuttal witness). In this case, Defendant has failed to present sufficient facts about juror Watkin's relationship with his half-brother to demonstrate either actual prejudice or that a presumption of prejudice is justified. Juror Watkins was forthcoming about his relationship with one of the State's witnesses. Moreover, he obviously convinced the trial court that he could judge the evidence in a non-biased manner and with no preconceived notion of Defendant's guilt. There is nothing in the record before us that convinces us that the trial court erred in reaching this conclusion. Moreover, as this Court has previously held, the failure to correctly exclude a juror for cause is grounds for reversal only if the defendant exhausts all of his peremptory challenges and an incompetent juror is forced upon him. Howell, 868 S.W.2d at 248 (emphasis added). In this case, Defendant did, indeed, exhaust all of his peremptory challenges, using one of them to excuse Mr. Watkins. However, we disagree with Defendant that an incompetent juror was thereby thrust upon him. Defendant argues that [b]ased on the non-exclusion of . . . Barry Watkins for cause, [he] was forced to accept at least three (3) jurors that were incompetent, biased and/or not impartial because they had prior knowledge of the allegations against Defendant from the media or personal relationships. Defendant particularly targets the jury foreperson, Mr. Burrough, who acknowledged some prior familiarity with the case from an acquaintance who worked at the Hardeman County Correctional Facility. Mr. Burrough answered affirmatively the trial court's initial inquiry as to whether he had heard or read anything at all about this case[.] Mr. Burrough explained that his source of information was an acquaintance that worked at the prison. Mr. Burrough stated that the information he had heard had not caused him to form an opinion about Defendant's guilt or innocence and stated further that he would be able to base his verdict on the law and evidence charged by the trial court. Similarly, jurors Edna Blake and Eric Bolden indicated that they had each gained some information about the case from the media and/or hearsay at work prior to trial. Each assured the trial court that they had not formed an opinion about Defendant's guilt or innocence based on what they had heard. Our rules of criminal procedure provide that a prospective juror may be challenged for cause where [t]he prospective juror's exposure to potentially prejudicial information makes the person unacceptable as a juror. Both the degree of exposure and the prospective juror's testimony as to his or her state of mind shall be considered in determining acceptability. A prospective juror who states that he or she will be unable to overcome preconceptions shall be subject to challenge for cause no matter how slight the exposure. If the prospective juror has seen or heard and remembers information that will be developed in the course of trial, or that may be inadmissible but is not so prejudicial as to create a substantial risk that his or her judgment will be affected, the prospective juror's acceptability shall depend on whether the testimony as to impartiality is believed. If the prospective juror admits to having formed an opinion, he or she shall be subject to challenge for cause unless the examination shows unequivocally that the prospective juror can be impartial. Tenn. R.Crim. P. 24(b)(2). The record reveals that defense counsel made no attempt to challenge Mr. Burrough, Ms. Blake, or Mr. Bolden for cause. Apparently, defense counsel determined that none of these persons was so biased or prejudiced by the information they had heard prior to trial as to justify a for-cause challenge. Yet, Defendant now contends that he was forced to accept these incompetent, biased and/or not impartial jurors because he exercised a peremptory challenge against Mr. Watkins. Defendant fails to explain how these jurors' mild familiarity with the case prior to trial rendered them incompetent as jurors. Defendant has demonstrated neither partiality on the part of any of these jurors, nor any prejudice that he suffered as a result of any of these three persons sitting on the jury. Juror bias must be shown, not just suspected. Lawson, 794 S.W.2d at 367 (citing Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209, 102 S.Ct. 940, 71 L.Ed.2d 78 (1982)). We are not persuaded that any of these three jurors was incompetent as required by Howell . Defendant has simply failed to demonstrate that he is entitled to a new trial on the basis of the trial court's refusal to dismiss Barry Watkins for cause. Accordingly, Defendant is not entitled to relief on this issue.
When a defendant has been sentenced to death, we must conduct a mandatory review of the sentencing process pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-206(c)(1) (2003). That provision of our criminal code requires us to determine whether a) the death sentence was imposed in any arbitrary fashion; b) the evidence supports the jury's finding of statutory aggravating circumstances; c) the evidence supports the jury's finding that the aggravating circumstances outweigh any mitigating circumstances; and d) the sentence of death is excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases, considering both the nature of the crime and the defendant. Id.
Initially, we find that the sentencing phase of Defendant's trial was conducted pursuant to the procedure established in the applicable statutory provisions and rules of criminal procedure. Accordingly, we conclude that the death penalty was not imposed in an arbitrary fashion.
We turn now to the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the jury's finding of statutory aggravating circumstances. In this case, the jury determined that the State had proven beyond a reasonable doubt four aggravating circumstances: (a) Defendant was previously convicted of one or more felonies, other than the present charge, whose statutory elements involve the use of violence to the person; (b) Defendant's murder of the victim was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse beyond that necessary to produce death; (c) Defendant committed the murder while he was in lawful custody or in a place of lawful confinement; and (d) the murder was committed against a corrections employee who was engaged in the performance of official duties. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-204(i)(2), (5), (8), (9) (Supp.1999). We must now review the evidence supporting each of these aggravating circumstances in the light most favorable to the State and determine whether a rational trier of fact could have found the existence of each beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Bane, 57 S.W.3d 411, 426 (Tenn.2001).
During the sentencing phase of Defendant's trial, the State introduced by stipulation three certified judgments against Defendant. These documents indicate that judgments of conviction were entered against Defendant in 1986 for first degree murder; in 1992 for first degree murder; and in 1998 for criminal attempt to commit first degree murder. Obviously, the statutory elements of the felony of first degree murder involve the use of violence to the person. See Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-13-202(a). This Court has further held that the statutory elements of attempted murder involve the use of violence to the person. State v. Cribbs, 967 S.W.2d 773, 782-83 (Tenn.1998). Accordingly, we hold that the evidence is sufficient to support the jury's finding of the existence of this aggravating circumstance. See Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-13-204(i)(2) (Supp.1999).
The jury determined that Defendant's murder of Steed was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse beyond that necessary to produce death. See id. at (i)(5). This aggravating circumstance may be applied if the evidence is sufficient to support either torture or serious physical abuse beyond that necessary to produce death. State v. Suttles, 30 S.W.3d 252, 262 (Tenn.2000). This Court has defined serious physical abuse beyond that necessary to produce death as follows: The word serious alludes to a matter of degree. The abuse must be physical, as opposed to mental, and it must be beyond that or more than what is necessary to produce death. Abuse is defined as an act that is excessive or which makes improper use of a thing, or which uses a thing in a manner contrary to the natural or legal rules for its use. State v. Odom, 928 S.W.2d 18, 26 (Tenn. 1996) (quoting Black's Law Dictionary 11 (6th ed.1990)). The proof in this case established that Defendant stabbed Steed a total of thirty-six times. Twelve of the wounds were fatal. Dr. Smith testified that Defendant's infliction of so many wounds to the victim qualified for application of the term overkill. He explained: there was excessive injury done to the body far in excess of what would be necessary to cause death. The proof is more than sufficient to support the jury's finding of this aggravating circumstance.
The proof at trial that Defendant was in lawful custody or in a place of lawful confinement at the time he killed Steed is clear and uncontroverted. The evidence is therefore sufficient to support the jury's finding of this aggravating circumstance. See Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-13-204(i)(8) (Supp.1999).
The record in this case contains a copy of the jury's verdict form which includes the written jury instructions provided to the jury by the trial court. These instructions informed the jury that it could apply as an aggravating circumstance that [t]he murder was committed against any law enforcement officer, corrections official, corrections employee, engaged in the performance of official duties. The verdict form returned by the jury contains a handwritten finding by the jury that it applied as an aggravating circumstance that the murder was committed against any law enforcement officer, corrections official, corrections employee, engaged in the performance of official duties. The written instruction provided to the jury on this aggravating circumstance was erroneous. Our criminal code provides that the fact-finder may consider as an aggravating circumstance that [t]he murder was committed against any law enforcement officer, corrections official, corrections employee, emergency medical or rescue worker, emergency medical technician, paramedic or firefighter, who was engaged in the performance of official duties, and the defendant knew or reasonably should have known that such victim was a law enforcement officer, corrections official, corrections employee, emergency medical or rescue worker, emergency medical technician, paramedic or firefighter engaged in the performance of official duties. Id. at (i)(9) (emphasis added). The trial court's written instruction to the jury in this case omitted the element requiring that Defendant knew or reasonably should have known that the victim was a law enforcement officer, corrections official, or corrections employee engaged in the performance of official duties. Defendant did not raise this issue at trial, in his motion for new trial, or on appeal. Nevertheless, this Court will review a patently incomplete instruction at a capital sentencing hearing under the plain error doctrine, regardless of a defendant's failure to raise the issue. See State v. Stephenson, 878 S.W.2d 530, 554 (Tenn.1994); see also State v. Hines, 758 S.W.2d 515, 523 (Tenn.1988) (characterizing as plain error the trial court's incomplete instructions on two of three aggravating circumstances found by the jury). This Court will grant relief under the plain error doctrine only where necessary to do substantial justice. Tenn. R.Crim. P. 52(b). As we have stated previously, the error must be of such a great magnitude that it probably changed the outcome of the trial. State v. Faulkner, 154 S.W.3d 48, 58 (Tenn.2005). An appellate court will reverse for plain error only if: (a) the record ... clearly establish[es] what occurred in the trial court; (b) a clear and unequivocal rule of law [has] been breached; (c) a substantial right of the accused [has] been adversely affected; (d) the accused did not waive the issue for tactical reasons; and (e) consideration of the error is necessary to do substantial justice. State v. Smith, 24 S.W.3d 274, 282 (Tenn. 2000) (quoting State v. Adkisson, 899 S.W.2d 626, 641-42 (Tenn.Crim.App.1994)). All five factors must be established and an appellate court need not consider all five factors if any one factor indicates that relief is not warranted. Id. at 283. In this case, the proof at trial was uncontroverted that Defendant knew the victim was a corrections employee: indeed, Defendant committed the murder because of the victim's performance in that role. The proof at trial was further uncontroverted that Defendant knew the victim was engaged in the performance of his official duties when Defendant brutally stabbed him to death. Defendant told Mr. Dunaway that he approached the victim during a counseling session only to be ignored. At that point, Defendant determined to kill the victim. The trial court's error in its written instruction to the jury on this aggravating circumstance is analogous to that committed when a trial court omits from its instructions an essential element of an offense. In State v. Garrison, 40 S.W.3d 426, 433 (Tenn.2000), the trial court omitted from its charge one of the mens rea elements of the indicted offense. This Court found the erroneous instruction harmless beyond a reasonable doubt because proof of the omitted element was not contested at trial and was essentially conceded by the defendant. Id. at 435; see also Neder v. United States, 527 U.S. 1, 18-20, 119 S.Ct. 1827, 144 L.Ed.2d 35 (1999) (finding trial court's failure to instruct on an element of offense harmless beyond a reasonable doubt where omitted element was supported by uncontroverted evidence). The same result obtains here for the same reason: Defendant admitted his knowledge of the victim's employment and that the victim was engaged in official duties at the time Defendant killed him. Thus, the instructional error did not adversely affect a substantial right of the accused. Finally, given the nature of the proof in this case, we are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the jury would have found and applied this aggravating circumstance had it received the correct instruction. Therefore, Defendant suffered no prejudice as a result of the trial court's error and we need not reverse his sentence of death in order to do substantial justice. Defendant is entitled to no relief on the basis of the trial court's instructional error on this aggravating circumstance.
After the close of the State's proof during the sentencing phase of Defendant's trial, and while the jury was out, the trial court questioned Defendant about his decision regarding the presentation of proof of mitigating circumstances. Defendant stated that he did not want his lawyers to present any proof of mitigating circumstances. Furthermore, Defendant chose not to testify on his own behalf during the sentencing phase. Accordingly, the defense presented no proof during the sentencing phase of Defendant's trial of any mitigating circumstances that might counteract the State's proof of aggravating circumstances. The only proof in the nature of mitigating circumstances presented during the guilt phase of Defendant's trial was Defendant's testimony about how the victim had treated him. We conclude that the State's proof of aggravating circumstances outweighs any mitigating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt.
We turn now to our analysis of whether the sentence imposed in this case is excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases. This review identifies aberrant, arbitrary, or capricious sentencing by determining whether the death sentence is `disproportionate to the punishment imposed on others convicted of the same crime.' State v. Bland, 958 S.W.2d 651, 662 (Tenn.1997) (quoting Pulley v. Harris, 465 U.S. 37, 42-43, 104 S.Ct. 871, 79 L.Ed.2d 29 (1984)). We begin with the presumption that a death sentence is proportional with the crime of first degree murder. State v. Hall, 976 S.W.2d 121, 135 (Tenn.1998). In conducting this review, we employ the precedent-seeking method of comparative proportionality review, in which we compare this case with other cases involving similar defendants and similar crimes. See Bland, 958 S.W.2d at 665-67. While no defendants or crimes are identical, a death sentence is disproportionate if a case is plainly lacking in circumstances consistent with those in cases where the death penalty has been imposed. Id. at 668. Our inquiry, however, does not require a finding that a sentence less than death was never imposed in a case with similar characteristics. Id. at 665. This Court has repeatedly held that the pool of cases considered by this Court in its proportionality review includes those first degree murder cases in which the State seeks the death penalty, a capital sentencing hearing is held, and the sentencing jury determines whether the sentence should be life imprisonment, life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, or death. State v. Reid, 164 S.W.3d 286, 316 (Tenn.2005). In reviewing the applicable pool of cases, we consider numerous factors regarding the offense: 1) the means of death; (2) the manner of death; (3) the motivation for the killing; (4) the place of death; (5) the victim's age, physical condition, and psychological condition; (6) the absence or presence of premeditation; (7) the absence or presence of provocation; (8) the absence or presence of justification; and (9) the injury to and effect upon non-decedent victims. Bland, 958 S.W.2d at 667. In addition, we consider numerous factors about the defendant: (1) prior criminal record or activity; (2) age, race, and gender; (3) mental, emotional, and physical condition; (4) role in the murder; (5) cooperation with authorities; (6) level of remorse; (7) knowledge of the victim's helplessness; and (8) potential for rehabilitation. Id.; see also Bane, 57 S.W.3d at 428-29. In this case, the incarcerated Defendant armed himself with a weapon he had created specifically to use against another human being, walked up behind the seated and unarmed victim, a corrections counselor, and began repeatedly stabbing him, aiming initially for the victim's vital organs. Defendant stabbed the victim thirty-six times; twelve of the wounds were lethal. Defendant committed the killing intentionally and with premeditation. Defendant killed the victim because he felt the victim had disrespected him. The victim was fifty-seven years old. Defendant killed Mr. Steed while he was engaged in his official duties. Defendant has expressed no remorse for the killing; indeed, Defendant has made clear that he would commit the killing again if given the opportunity. Prior to the instant murder, Defendant had killed two other persons and attempted to kill a third person. Defendant has demonstrated no potential for rehabilitation. In State v. Taylor, 771 S.W.2d 387, 401(Tenn.1989), this Court affirmed a sentence of death after the defendant was convicted of the first degree murder of a prison guard. In Taylor , the defendant was incarcerated at the Turney Center. The defendant believed he had been treated unfairly by Corrections Officer Moore on several occasions. On the day of the killing, Officer Moore reprimanded the defendant for failing to properly clean an area, and this incident angered the defendant. Later that day, the defendant approached Officer Moore from behind as the officer was talking to some inmates, grabbed him, and began stabbing him repeatedly with a prison-made knife. Despite pleas from other inmates to cease his attack, the defendant continued to stab the officer, brandishing his weapon at those who tried to come to Moore's aid. The jury sentenced the defendant to death on the basis of four aggravating circumstances: (1) the defendant had previously been convicted of a felony that involved the use or threat of violence to the person; (2) the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel in that it involved torture or depravity of mind; (3) the murder was committed by the defendant while he was in lawful custody or in a place of lawful confinement; and (4) the murder was committed against a corrections employee, who was engaged in the performance of his duties, and the defendant knew that the victim was a corrections employee engaged in the performance of his duties. Id. at 392. This Court upheld the death sentence. Id. at 401. In State v. Henderson, 24 S.W.3d 307, 310 (Tenn.2000), the defendant murdered a deputy by shooting him in the back of the head during an escape attempt. While incarcerated, the defendant had his girlfriend smuggle to him a handgun. The defendant then arranged for a visit to a dentist. While awaiting treatment, the defendant pulled the handgun, threatening the dentist and his assistant. The dentist called for help, and the deputy, who had been in the reception area, responded. The defendant fired at the deputy, grazing him with a gunshot. The deputy fell and struck his head, rendering him unconscious. The defendant left the treatment room, but then returned and fired a shot into the back of the unmoving deputy's head at point blank range, killing him. The defendant then escaped, only to be apprehended a short time later. The defendant pled guilty to first degree premeditated murder and waived a jury as to his sentencing. Id. at 311. The trial court subsequently imposed the death sentence on the basis of four aggravating circumstances: (1) that the defendant knowingly created a great risk of death to two or more persons, other than the victim murdered, during the act of murder; (2) that the defendant committed the murder for the purpose of avoiding, interfering with, or preventing a lawful arrest or prosecution of the defendant or another; (3) that the defendant committed the murder while in lawful custody or in a place of lawful confinement or during the defendant's escape from same; and (4) the murder was committed against any law enforcement officer who was engaged in the performance of official duties. Id. at 312. This Court affirmed the defendant's sentence of death. Id. at 319. In State v. Sutton, 761 S.W.2d 763, 764 (Tenn.1988), the defendant was convicted of the first degree murder of a fellow inmate. The State's proof indicated that the defendant had stabbed the victim multiple times with a prison-made knife after the victim had sold him unsatisfactory marijuana. The jury found and applied three aggravating circumstances: (1) the defendant was previously convicted of one or more felonies involving the use or threat of violence to the person; (2) the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel in that it involved torture or depravity of mind; and (3) the defendant committed the murder while he was in a place of lawful confinement. Id. This Court affirmed the death sentence. Id. This Court has upheld the death penalty in numerous cases where the sole aggravating circumstance was the defendant's prior conviction of a violent felony offense. See, e.g., State v. McKinney, 74 S.W.3d 291 (Tenn.2002) (upholding death sentence of defendant convicted of premeditated murder for shooting and killing an off-duty police officer at night club where sole aggravating circumstance was based on defendant's prior conviction of aggravated robbery); State v. Chalmers, 28 S.W.3d 913 (Tenn.2000) (upholding death sentence of defendant convicted of felony murder for shooting and killing victim during robbery where sole aggravating circumstance was based on defendant's prior convictions of attempted especially aggravated robbery and attempted first degree murder); State v. Keough, 18 S.W.3d 175 (Tenn. 2000) (upholding death sentence of defendant convicted of premeditated murder for stabbing and killing estranged wife during argument where aggravating circumstance was based on defendant's prior convictions for assault to commit voluntary manslaughter and manslaughter); State v. Smith, 993 S.W.2d 6 (Tenn.1999) (upholding death sentence of defendant convicted of felony murder for shooting and killing victim during robbery where aggravating circumstance was based on defendant's prior convictions of robbery and first degree murder); State v. Adkins, 725 S.W.2d 660 (Tenn.1987) (upholding death sentence of defendant convicted of first degree murder for shooting and killing estranged girlfriend's friend where aggravating circumstance was based on defendant's prior convictions of second degree murder and aggravated assault). As this Court has frequently stated, this aggravating circumstance is more qualitatively persuasive and objectively reliable than other[] aggravating circumstances. Howell, 868 S.W.2d at 261. This Court has also upheld numerous death sentences where the defendant stabbed to death the victim and the jury applied the heinous, atrocious, or cruel aggravating circumstance. See, e.g., Reid, 164 S.W.3d at 296-97 (upholding two death sentences upon defendant's convictions for two premeditated murders where defendant stabbed victims to death in course of robbery, and jury applied as aggravating circumstances defendant's previous violent felonies, that the murders were especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel in that they involved torture or serious physical abuse beyond that necessary to produce death, and that the murders were committed to avoid prosecution); Suttles, 30 S.W.3d at 260 (upholding death sentence of defendant convicted of premeditated murder for multiple stabbing death of estranged girlfriend and jury found as aggravating circumstances that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse beyond that necessary to cause death and that defendant was previously convicted of violent felonies); State v. Bush, 942 S.W.2d 489 (Tenn.1997) (upholding death sentence upon defendant's conviction of premeditated murder for stabbing victim forty-three times, killing her, and jury determined the murder to have been heinous, atrocious, or cruel and committed to avoid prosecution); State v. Hines, 919 S.W.2d 573 (Tenn.1995) (upholding death sentence upon defendant's conviction of felony murder in perpetration of robbery where defendant stabbed victim to death in such a manner as to justify heinous, atrocious, or cruel aggravator; jury also applied prior violent felony aggravator); State v. Payne, 791 S.W.2d 10 (Tenn.1990) (upholding two death sentences upon defendant's convictions of two first degree murders where defendant stabbed mother and young daughter multiple times and jury applied heinous, atrocious, or cruel aggravating circumstance); State v. Jones, 789 S.W.2d 545 (Tenn.1990) (upholding death sentence upon defendant's first degree murder conviction for stabbing victim multiple times during course of robbery and jury applied prior violent felonies; heinous, atrocious, or cruel; and felony murder aggravating circumstances); State v. Thompson, 768 S.W.2d 239 (Tenn.1989) (upholding death sentence upon defendant's conviction of first degree murder for stabbing victim to death where jury applied heinous, atrocious, or cruel aggravating circumstance together with aggravators for committing the murder to avoid prosecution and committing the murder during a robbery or kidnapping); State v. West, 767 S.W.2d 387, 391 (Tenn.1989) (upholding two death sentences where defendant involved in stabbing two victims to death, involving torture wounds, and jury applied heinous, atrocious, or cruel; murder committed to avoid prosecution; and felony murder aggravating circumstances).