Opinion ID: 778660
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Future Dangerousness

Text: 68 Bernard also argues that the evidence is legally insufficient to support the jury's finding that he is likely to commit criminal acts of violence in the future that would be a threat to the lives and safety of others. Relying in part on Simmons v. South Carolina, 512 U.S. 154, 114 S.Ct. 2187, 129 L.Ed.2d 133 (1994), Bernard contends that the fact of mandatory long-term incarceration alone weighs heavily against a finding of dangerousness in the absence of some evidence that the defendant will continue to be violent even in prison. Further, given the limited nature and extent of his personal role in the murder of the Bagleys and his lack of any substantial prior criminal history, Bernard disputes that a rational jury could find him a future danger to society. Under the above-quoted limited test for sufficiency of evidence on appeal, we find no merit in these arguments. 69 Simmons does not hold that future dangerousness is irrelevant to a jury's sentencing decision when the defendant will be imprisoned indefinitely, but instead requires that this aggravating factor be explained to the jury in the context of the defendant's ineligibility for parole. 512 U.S. at 169, 114 S.Ct. 2187. Simmons was applied correctly here, since the jury was informed that Bernard would be ineligible for parole. Moreover, the Eighth Circuit, sitting en banc, rejected a similar Simmons argument in United States v. Allen, 247 F.3d 741, 788 (8th Cir.2001) (en banc) ([Appellant] argues that the government asserted only that he would be a danger to society but not that he would be a danger in prison. Because the jury was informed of his ineligibility for parole, we find no basis for drawing such a distinction.). In any event, the government offered proof not only of Bernard's past record but also of his potential for violence in prison. At the sentencing hearing, Dr. Richard Coons, a forensic psychiatrist, testified concerning Bernard's propensity for violence in prison. 11 Based on Dr. Coons's testimony, the horrific facts of Bernard's participation in the crimes, and ample evidence of Bernard's gang membership and criminal activities, including his participation in at least two dozen burglaries, a rational juror could find that Bernard posed a serious threat of future harm to others. 70