Opinion ID: 867374
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The penalty phase closing argument.

Text: ¶ 58 At the beginning of his closing, the prosecutor argued: You know, listening to [counsel for Garza in his closing argument], I want to apologize at the outset, because when he stood up here and tried to in some way insinuate or suggest to you that the suffering of these people over here, the suffering of the victims is somehow comparable to Ruben Garza and the life he's led. That deserves an apology. I was shocked to hear that this morning. There is no way that Ruben Garza and the opportunities he's had in his life is comparable in any way to what these people have gone through in the last five years to see that justice is done in this case, the loss of their son, the loss of their daughter. So we want to apologize at the outset. I know [Garza's counsel] really didn't mean to do that. The State ended its argument on a similar note: And in the defense's opening he suggested that it was unfortunate that the victims were here in the courtroom. The families of these victims were here because of the decisions that Ruben made. They seek justice for the brutal murders of their son and daughter, and this case cries out for justice and asks that you follow the law and impose the death penalty in this case. Garza claims that these comments were improper, but did not object to them below; we therefore review for fundamental error. Roque, 213 Ariz. at 228 ¶ 154, 141 P.3d at 403. ¶ 59 The arguments were not fundamental error. In his argument, defense counsel had sought to compare the suffering of the murder victims with that of Garza and his loved ones. The State's commentary was invited by this argument.