Opinion ID: 864750
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Affirm the sentence of death;

Text: (b) Reweigh the remaining aggravating circumstances against the mitigating circumstances should one or more of the aggravating circumstances be found to be invalid, and (i) affirm the sentence of death or (ii) hold the error in the sentence phase harmless error and affirm the sentence of death or (iii) remand the case for a new sentencing hearing; or (c) Set the sentence aside and remand the case for modification of the sentence to imprisonment for life. 9 Miss. Code Ann. § 99-19-101(3) states in part that aggravating circumstances shall be limited to the following: (d) The capital offense was committed while the defendant was engaged, or was an accomplice, in the commission of, or an attempt to commit, or flight after committing or attempting to commit, any robbery... (e) The capital offense was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest or effecting an escape from custody. (h) The capital offense was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel. 90 To return that death penalty you must find that the mitigating circumstances - - those which tend to warrant the less severe penalty of life imprisonment without parole - - do not outweigh the aggravating circumstances - - those which tend to warrant the death penalty. Consider only the following elements of aggravation in determining whether the death penalty should be imposed: (1) whether the capital offense was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest, (2) Whether the capital offense was committed while the defendant was engaged, or was an accomplice, in the commission of the crime of robbery. You must unanimously find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that one or more of the preceding aggravating circumstances exists in this case to return the death penalty. If none of these aggravating circumstances are found to exist, the death penalty may not be imposed... ¶188. The jury verdict read into the record stated that the jury found the aggravating circumstances that the capital murder was committed for the purpose of avoiding or protecting a lawful arrest and while the defendant was engaged or was an accomplice in the commission of the crime of robbery. Accordingly, the alleged aggravating circumstance that the capital offense was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel was not submitted to the jury and this Court finds that any argument referencing this alleged factor will not be considered by this Court. However, Scott does argue that the avoiding lawful arrest circumstance was invalid because there was insufficient evidence. He does not argue anything in regard to the second given aggravating circumstance of whether the capital offense was committed while the defendant was engaged, or was an accomplice, in the commission of the crime of robbery. Therefore, only the issue of whether the avoiding lawful arrest will be discussed by this Court. ¶189. In the post-conviction relief case,Wiley v. State, 750 So.2d 1193, 1206 (Miss. 2000), this Court set forth the standard of review for the sufficiency of the evidence to support an instruction for avoiding lawful arrest, stating: 91 Each case must be decided on its own peculiar facts. If there is evidence from which it may be reasonably inferred that a substantial reason for the killing was to conceal the identity of the killer or killers or to 'cover their tracks' so as to avoid apprehension and eventual arrest by authorities, then it is proper for the court to allow the jury to consider this aggravating circumstance. Chase v. State, 645 So.2d 829, 858 (Miss.1994) (quoting Hansen v. State, 592 So.2d 114, 153 (Miss.1991)). Wiley, 750 So.2d at 1206. ¶190. Thus, this Court must determine whether there is any credible evidence upon which the jury could find the aggravating circumstance in question. Id. (quoting Woodward v. State, 726 So.2d 524, 541 (Miss. 1997)). In McGilberry v. State, 843 So.2d at 29, this Court addressed the aggravating circumstance of whether McGilberry created a great risk of death to many persons. In its opinion this Court held that [i]f one aggravator is found to be invalid, we are authorized to reweigh the remaining aggravators against the mitigating circumstances and affirm, hold the error to be harmless, or remand for a new sentencing hearing. Miss. Code Ann. § 99-19-105(5)(b) (Rev. 2000). ¶191. Reviewing the facts of this case, this Court finds that there is abundant evidence to support the aggravating circumstance that the capital offense was committed by Scott for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest. Lurline testified that sometime after noon Scott saw her open the door to her house and he then shot at her two times. Lee was shot and killed in his driveway. Officer Haney spotted a car that met the description of the Lee's vehicle. He pursued the vehicle with his blue lights on, traveling up to 115 miles per hour at one point, yet the driver of the car never pulled over to the side of the road. By the time Officer Haney turned onto Bobo Road, the vehicle was gone leaving only tracks on the ground. When the police found the empty vehicle near an old gin, the driver was not present at the scene. Scott stopped at the Ivy's home around 12:30 to 1:00 p.m. in Bobo to ask for a ride home, both Doris and Steven noticed that Scott was sweating and that he had no jacket. Officer Estes testified that the Lee's 92 vehicle, a gun, a bloody jacket containing Scott's driver's license, a letter from Scott's girlfriend and some other items were found near the gin. While driving Scott home, Steven observed Scott looking at the gin. ¶192. This Court finds that the evidence shows that the person that Lurline identified as Scott was clearly trying to avoid lawful arrest. Sometime near noon, Scott shot at her twice when she came to her door and spoke to her husband, who was at that point still inside his automobile. Officer Haney pursued a driver in a vehicle that matched the description of the Lee's vehicle and despite flashing the blue lights and traveling near 115 miles per hour in pursuit, the driver never pulled the vehicle over the side of the road. The Lee's automobile was later found abandoned in the old gin by police. Various articles such as a bloody coat, gun, and Scott's driver's licence and letter from his girlfriend were found near the old gin and the Lee's abandoned automobile. ¶193. Other witnesses testified that Scott came by their house sweating and without a jacket around 12:30 to 1:00 p.m. asking for a ride home. On the drive back to his house, Scott looked over at the gin. Clearly, the preceding evidence supports an aggravating circumstances that Scott tried to avoid lawful arrest by shooting at a potential witness, Lurline, that could identify him; taking a vehicle that was not his and refusing to stop the vehicle when pursued by police; dumping items of evidence; and asking for a ride back home to get farther away from the crime scene rather than going to the police station. This Court finds that there is sufficient evidence to support the aggravating circumstance presented at trial. Therefore, this issue is without merit. XXV. Cumulative Error ¶194. Scott argues that the cumulative effect of the errors in his trial warrant reversal. In Wilburn v. State, 608 So.2d 702, 705 (Miss. 1992), this Court held that “individual errors, not reversible in themselves, may combine with other errors to make up reversible error.” The question that must be asked 93 in these instances is whether the defendant was deprived of a “fundamentally fair and impartial trial” as a results of the cumulative effect of all errors at trial. Id. If there is “no reversible error in any part, so there is no reversible error to the whole. McFee v. State, 511 So.2d 130, 136 (Miss. 1987). ¶195. None of the issues raised by Scott in this assignment or any of those discussed previously, rise to the level of reversible error either standing alone or when considered together. The verdict finds substantial support in the evidence and Scott failed to demonstrate any procedural or substantive errors that warrant reversal. Based on the finding of no error, this Court finds that there is no cumulative effect for all the alleged errors and, therefore, his convictions and sentences should be affirmed by this Court. XXVI. Proportionality Review of Death Sentence ¶196. Miss. Code Ann. § 99-19-105(3) (2000) requires this Court to perform a proportionality review of a death sentence in a capital case. Section 99-19-105(3) states: (3) With regard to the sentence, the court shall determine: (a) Whether the sentence of death was imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice or any other arbitrary factor; (b) Whether the evidence supports the jury's or judge's finding of a statutory aggravating circumstance as enumerated in Section 99-19-101; (c) Whether the sentence of death is excessive of disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases, considering both the crime and the defendant; and (d) Should one or more of the aggravating circumstances be found invalid on appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court shall determine whether the remaining aggravating circumstances are outweighed by the mitigating circumstances or whether the inclusion of any invalid circumstances was harmless error, or both. ¶197. After reviewing the record in this appeal as well as the death penalty cases listed in the appendix, we conclude that Scott's death sentence was not imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other factor. We further find that the evidence is more than sufficient to support the jury's finding of 94 statutory aggravating circumstances. In comparison to other factually similar cases where the death sentences was imposed, the sentence of death is neither excessive of disproportionate in this case. Finally, the jury did not consider any invalid aggravating circumstances. Therefore, we affirm the death sentence imposed in this case.