Opinion ID: 1706565
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 29

Heading: did the jury instructions impermissibly require the jury to unanimously find mitigating circumstances?

Text: Willie objected to instruction S-9 at trial, but on appeal Willie has raised an objection different than that raised at trial. Although procedurally barred, we address Willie's argument that jury instruction S-9 required the jury, when it determined whether aggravating circumstances outweighed mitigating ones, to consider only those mitigating circumstances which it unanimously found. This Court follows the rule that jury instructions must not inform the jury that it may consider only those mitigating circumstances which it unanimously finds. McKoy v. North Carolina, 494 U.S. 433, 110 S.Ct. 1227, 108 L.Ed.2d 369 (1990); Mills v. Maryland, 486 U.S. 367, 108 S.Ct. 1860, 100 L.Ed.2d 384 (1988); Turner v. State, 573 So.2d 657, 668 (Miss. 1990); Shell v. State, 554 So.2d at 905, reversed on other grounds, ___ U.S. ___, 111 S.Ct. 313, 112 L.Ed.2d 1 (1990). In determining whether the jury was so instructed, we do not look solely at instruction S-9, but at the instructions as a whole. Roundtree v. State, 568 So.2d at 1177; Shell v. State, 554 So.2d at 900, reversed on other grounds, ___ U.S. ___, 111 S.Ct. 313, 112 L.Ed.2d 1 (1990). Instruction S-8 told the jury in pertinent part that: [T]he procedure that you must follow is not a mere counting process of a certain number of aggravating circumstances versus the number of mitigating circumstances. Rather, you must apply your reasoned judgment as to whether the situation calls for life imprisonment or whether it requires the imposition of death, in light of the totality of the circumstances present. Instruction S-9 further told the jury: In reaching your decision, you may objectively consider the detailed circumstances of the offense for which the defendant was convicted, and the character and record of the defendant himself... . A. To return the death penalty ... you must first unanimously find from the evidence ... that one or more of the following [aggravating] facts existed: ..... Next, to return the death penalty, you must find that the mitigating circumstances ... do not outweigh the aggravating circumstances... . We find that the jury was instructed to unanimously find aggravating circumstances, but not mitigating circumstances. The instructions were proper and the trial judge did not err in granting the instructions. This assignment of error has no merit.