Opinion ID: 1919690
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 15

Heading: the eighth amendment's requirement of consideration of mitigating circumstances was repeatedly disregarded.

Text: Davis challenges the trial court's refusal to strike venire members Gray and Ashcraft. Davis argues that both of these venire members could not and would not consider any mitigating factors that Davis might present at trial. Specifically, Davis argues that he was entitled to have jurors that would consider evidence of an abusive childhood as a mitigating factor. Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 109 S.Ct. 2934, 106 L.Ed.2d 256 (1989). Davis contends that these two venire members believed in the automatic imposition of the death penalty and therefore, the trial judge committed reversible error when he refused to strike Gray and Ashcraft for cause. See Morgan v. Illinois, 504 U.S. 719, 737, 112 S.Ct. 2222, 2234, 119 L.Ed.2d 492, 508 (1992). During jury selection, Davis used peremptory challenge number 11 on Charles Gray. The petit jury was empaneled and jury selection was completed before Ashcraft's name was reached. Neither Gray nor Ashcraft served on Davis' jury. Therefore, this assignment of error is without merit under this Court's ruling in Mettetal v. State, 602 So.2d 864 (Miss. 1992). In Mettetal, the Court stated: The loss of a peremptory challenge does not constitute a violation of the constitutional right to an impartial jury. So long as the jury that sits is impartial, the fact that the defendant had to use his peremptory challenges to achieve that result does not mean that the defendant was denied his constitutional rights. Ross v. Oklahoma, 487 U.S. 81, 88, 108 S.Ct. 2273, 2278, 101 L.Ed.2d 80, 90, reh'g denied 487 U.S. 1250, 109 S.Ct. 11, 101 L.Ed.2d 962 (1988). (emphasis added). This Court explained that a prerequisite to presentation of a claim of a denial of constitutional rights due to denial of a challenge for cause is a showing that the defendant had exhausted all of his peremptory challenges and that the incompetent juror(s) was forced to sit on the jury by the trial court's erroneous ruling. Chisolm v. State, 529 So.2d 635, 639 (Miss. 1988). Mettetal cannot make such a showing in the case at bar because he did in fact strike the veniremen peremptorily. The veniremen in question did not in fact sit on the jury. It is not error for the defense counsel to be compelled into using a peremptory challenge to remove a prospective juror. This assignment of error is without merit. (emphasis added). Mettetal v. State, 602 So.2d 864 (Miss. 1992); see also Mettetal v. State, 615 So.2d 600 (Miss. 1993); Hansen v. State, 592 So.2d 114 (Miss. 1991) cert. denied 504 U.S. 921, 112 S.Ct. 1970, 118 L.Ed.2d 570. Based upon the foregoing, we reject this assignment of error.