Opinion ID: 71999
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Evidence and Closing Argument at the Sentencing Phase

Text: 41 At the sentencing proceeding, the prosecution called only one witness, John Adams, the Sheriff of Harris County, Georgia. Adams testified that Cargill had a total disrespect for law and order and had a bad reputation in the community for turbulence and violence, cutting people and stealing and receiving stolen property. Cargill called five witnesses: his mother, his sister, two former neighbors and a minister. Cargill's mother, Marthareen Cargill, testified on direct examination that as a youth Cargill was a fine boy--obedient, quiet, helpful and diligent. She described her adult son as hard-working and generous. In concluding her testimony, she asked the jury to [p]lease have mercy on my son. During his cross-examination of Ms. Cargill, the prosecutor elicited that Cargill liked to fight dogs and had once cut his brother Larry with a knife. Cargill's sister, Marsha Cannon, testified that as a boy her brother was loving, considerate and never any trouble. Cannon described her brother in his adult years as a supportive sibling and son, one who lent assistance--financial and otherwise--to family members. She told the jury, Please don't take his life; let him live. On cross-examination, Cannon acknowledged that her brother had received a substantial fine in January 1985 from Harris County authorities for throwing a beer bottle at the state patrol, and had used drugs. One of the former neighbors, who had known Cargill for about twenty years, described him as a pretty good boy and non-violent--a quiet type who minded his mother and father pretty good. The other ex-neighbor testified that Cargill was a pleasant, quiet child; that he had never seen Cargill in any kind of fight; that Cargill was hard-working and obeyed his parents; and that Cargill had lent him money several times. Cargill's final witness, a local minister, testified about the relationship he had developed with Cargill subsequent to Cargill's arrest in this case. The minister testified that Cargill was kind, cordial and thoughtful during their visits, and had written some very nice correspondence. On cross-examination, the minister stated that although the Cargill family belonged to his church, he had never met Cargill until after Cargill's arrest--when the appellant requested to meet with him. 42 Near the outset of his closing argument, the prosecutor told the jury: 43 You will have to elect or select between the death penalty and the life sentence. We are obviously encouraging the death penalty. That is no revelation. We are going to make some remarks to you and show you, based on experience, based on the circumstances of this crime, based on the circumstances of this defendant why we feel this to be the appropriate punishment. 44 Later, after describing some of the purposes behind punishment, the prosecutor addressed the notion of deterrence: 45 If you punish one child, another child sees by that example. He doesn't put his hand in the cookie jar, walk in the flowerbed, or any one of a thousand and a million trespasses that kids can get into. We have to consider that in this court with deterrents. On one level it sounds a bit ridiculous to say, if we punish this man and punish him appropriately that it might stop somebody else from doing this. But it makes sense. I don't know. There have been studies done. Some folks say that the death penalty's a deterrent; some say that it's not. I don't know. I'll tell you as this defendant's concerned, number one, it will certainly deter this defendant from ever doing what he did again. Number two, history tells us, and while I am not an old man, I can remember when times were a lot simpler when we did not have things like this to contend with and when a death penalty being given was not a headline type thing. And I'm not saying there was no crime, but the papers weren't full of it day after day after day after day of heinous crimes. I submit to you that criminals who go out and do these acts, number one, feel like that they are so smart they'll never get caught; and, number two, they'll be punished in a very modest fashion. It will be an inconvenience, just like the overhead for a business, paying the electric bill, and he will try it over and over again. Deterrent? I don't know, but I will tell you this and I sincerely believe it. If by your punishing this defendant appropriately for these two murders and these two armed robberies deters even one individual from doing a similar crime, then by the grace of God it has served its purpose. For this defendant for the acts that he has done has forfeited his right to be among us. He has forfeited his right to live. So seldom do we see crimes so cold-blooded and not one but two bullets fired into the heads. 46 After, among other things, discussing the circumstances of the crime, denigrating the relevance of rehabilitation in this case and justifying his emotionalism, the prosecutor discussed the testimony at the sentencing proceeding: 47 We brought on Sheriff John Adams who told you about the defendant's reputation, and that reputation was bad, for turbul[e]nce and violence. That's what we have to call fighting and stabbing and cutting and that kind of thing. It's a bad reputation. We--he also testified as to the defendant's reputation on things like larceny and so forth. We did get the one sister to come out and say finally, tell you about his drug abuse. Now, that's what you're passing on. This is the good old boy that you're going to be passing on. His mother loves him. That is not evidence. She begged for him. If you wanted begging, we could've given you some begging; but that's not the way it ought to be done. 48 ... The defendant's sister said she knew of that fine he was to pay in January in Harris County. His mother testified. She told us he was a good little boy. She didn't tell us anything about once he grew up. But we had emphasized some things that we already knew, that he was a dog-fighter, a compassionate sport.... And she further testified that he only cut his brother one time. That's because he was coming at him with a tire tool, just one time. 49 He had his sister up there. He helped her move out. He gave her money. Look, this is blood. And there's not a crime in this world that blood is going to overlook, is not going to mitigate, is not going to say does not deserve some special treatment, no matter what anybody does. So the mere fact that that happens proves nothing. 50 After briefly mentioning the appearances of Cargill's two former neighbors, the prosecutor continued: 51 [A]nd then we came to the preacher. This is not the first time I've stood in front of a jury for a heinous crime, and there's always a judge; there's always a court reporter; there's always a defendant; there's always defense attorneys; there's always prosecutors; and there's always a preacher. I don't know why we always have to have a preacher, and everybody who gets in jail and gets into trouble has got to find the Lord. And I am not disparaging a true and fundamental belief in God or Jesus Christ, or whatever god you believe in. I will express some reservations. I will disparage acute onset religion, where people try to use Almighty God just like a monkey wrench, when you're in trouble, you've got to have it, you go get it; and when the pipe's fixed or when the trouble's over, you put it right back and forget until the next time you need it. 52 The prosecutor then made the ensuing remarks: 53 His salvation and what Almighty God does to him for what he's done does not concern us, for society has a right to demand that he pay a price for the events that he has done. Is the appropriate price life imprisonment, and 10 years or 15 years or ever how long it is, seven years or five years, when a bunch of little boys are sitting around the Christmas table thinking, Is that all that jury thought of my mama and daddy because that man is sitting off somewhere eating Christmas turkey dinner? 54 Thereafter, the prosecutor discussed premeditation and Cargill's lack of regard for human life; assailed the descriptions of Cargill as cordial and kind; addressed the magnitude of the crime; and described the function of the verdict form. He then spoke about aggravating and mitigating factors. As to the latter, the prosecutor said: 55 Mitigation--and notice the things that we're talking about don't affect the crime. They just either heighten the severity of it because of what the person is or lighten the impact of it. The Judge is going to charge you about this. Mitigation, and you're to consider mitigating factors. Now, what mitigating factors you have in this case, I don't know. [Defense counsel] is going to tell you. But you're to consider the aggravation, the evidence in aggravation, the evidence in mitigation.... Next, the prosecutor stated: 56 When [defense counsel] gets up here, he is going to encourage you to give a sentence of life in the penitentiary. Why is this not appropriate? I've touched on it before. Some people by their acts, and I'm not getting into that textbook stuff, have merely forfeited their right to live. They have shown a heart--and this is once again the language that Judge McCombs gave you, a heart so abandoned, so malignant, that is the only appropriate punishment. I'm not telling you that a life sentence in a Georgia penitentiary is any piece of cake. If you put a defendant in with young prisoners, he's going to tell them how to do it, pass off his poison to them. Let me ask you this. How would you like to be a correctional officer in an institution with that man in there with a life sentence and knowing he wanted to leave? 57 The prosecutor continued, stating that the jury's sympathies should side with the victims and their families, and not Cargill. His final remarks again stressed the importance of deterrence.