Opinion ID: 1735417
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Comment on the Safety of the Prison Guards.

Text: ś 170. Walker next contends that he was denied a fair trial due to the comments of the prosecutor regarding the safety of the prison guards if Walker was to receive a life sentence instead of death. The State counters claiming that the prosecutor made such an argument in the context of its claim that Walker's actions were so atrocious as to suggest that he was disconnected from society. The State argues that Walker had to be truly depraved to stab and slash Richardson twenty-five times. The following dialogue ensued during the sentencing phase: BY MR. JOYNER: The fellow told you, the psychiatrist told you, that Derrick was disconnected from everyone. Well, that's true. Derrick has shown that he is disconnected pretty well. You have to be kind of disconnected from the feelings and emotions of other human beings to take that knife, hide in somebody's house who has done nothing to you, stab them 15 times, plunge the knife into the scalp, into their body repeatedly, taking the knife, slashing him with it. I agree with that to some degree. He has got to be disconnected from the feelings and emotions of other people. But is that a mitigator? Does that mitigate in some way what he did, that he doesn't care who he hurts? Doesn't care what he does to them, doesn't care what he has to do to somebody to get what he wants. Couple credit cards, a dollar, and a car. Does that in some way make this all okay? Does that in some way lessen the punishment that he should receive? Absolutely not. Think of it like this, when you are thinking of the disconnection, if he is given a life sentence rather than the ultimate sanction that is available to you, there is a safety issue of guards and other prisoners to consider. BY MR. HOUSLEY: Your Honor, I object to this line of argument. BY MR. JOYNER: Your Honor, the case law clearly says they are allowed to consider such. BY THE COURT: The objection is overruled. ś 171. It is clear that Walker made a contemporaneous objection at trial regarding the safety of the prison guards. Therefore, Walker reserved his right to have this Court review whether error occurred. ś 172. This Court addressed this issue in Wells, 698 So.2d at 511-12: Referring to the jury's option of sentencing Wells to life in prison without possibility of parole, the prosecutor stated, Well, you know, ladies and gentlemen, there are other people in prison, too. You have got prison guards and secretaries and bookkeepers and even other prisoners themselves. After the trial court overruled Wells' objection, the prosecutor continued, You know, they deserve some protection from somebody like this. Life in prison without parole is not going to protect them one iota. Wells then moved for a mistrial, which motion the trial court overruled. In the case of Woodward v. State, 533 So.2d 418, 433 (Miss.1988), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1028, 109 S.Ct. 1767, 104 L.Ed.2d 202 (1989), the prosecutor stated in closing arguments, You know, as bad as I hate to say it, what about prisoner's rights? What about those people in Parchman who are in there for drugs? In our opinion, we engaged in a discussion of recent federal cases that dealt with this type of argument. In Brooks v. Kemp, 762 F.2d 1383, 1411 (11th Cir.1985), vacated on other grounds, 478 U.S. 1016, 106 S.Ct. 3325, 92 L.Ed.2d 732 (1986), where the prosecutor suggested that the defendant might kill a guard or fellow prisoner, the Eleventh Circuit held that the prosecutor's comments were directly relevant to the consideration of whether [the defendant] would remain a threat to society. In another case, the Eleventh Circuit held that an argument about the safety of prisoners and guards should the defendant be sentenced to life in prison did not call for a speculative inquiry into prison conditions and was an appropriate means of pointing out the possibility of the defendant's future dangerousness. Tucker v. Kemp, 762 F.2d 1480, 1486 (11th Cir.[1985]), vacated on other grounds, 474 U.S. 1001, 106 S.Ct. 517, 88 L.Ed.2d 452 (1985). In light of these decisions, we found the assignment of error to be without merit. Woodward, 533 So.2d at 434. Likewise, we hold that the prosecutor's comments in the case sub judice were not improper. ś 173. In light of our decision in Wells, we once again hold that the prosecutor's comments were not improper. The record clearly evidences that Walker received a fundamentally fair trial. Consequently, as to the entirety of Issue XI, we find no error occurred in the trial court.