Opinion ID: 1712255
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 19

Heading: Seriousness and Finality of Death Sentence

Text: Finally, defendant maintains his counsel made certain comments during voir dire and the penalty phase opening argument that lessened the jury's sense of responsibility for imposition of a death sentence and introduced arbitrary factors into the sentencing process. Specifically, defendant complains defense counsel stated in front of one panel of potential jurors: I mean, you've already been told that one person has committed the crime, confessed and has been sentenced. And that you're told that even though they let that one person do it, they're going to be asking you to kill the other person. I think the district attorney told you that each individual vote could be  is the vote if he gets death. And it rarely happens you know three people electrocuted in the last couple of years. Later, in opening statements during the penalty phase, counsel told the jury: The evidence today that we're going to show you and present is going to tell you what it really is to impose the death penalty. I'm going to tell you about the fact that they're going to put him in a little cell. He's going to get an automatic appeal and he's going to stay there for 10 or 15 years. And Mr. Robinson's family and Mr. Jackson's family, they're never going to be able to put it away. They're always going to be wanting to know when he's going to be executed. And then one day between the hours of midnight and five in the morning, they're going to let him have a meal with his family. They're going to let him see his children. In State v. Berry, 391 So.2d 406 (La. 1980), on reh'g, cert. denied, 451 U.S. 1010, 101 S.Ct. 2347, 68 L.Ed.2d 863 (1981), this court cautioned that counsel who refers to appellate review of the death sentence treads dangerously in the area of reversible error. Id. at 418. An argument conveying the message that the jurors' awesome responsibility is lessened by the fact that their decision is not the final one, or which contains inaccurate or misleading information, deprives a defendant of a fair trial in the sentencing phase and requires that the death penalty be vacated. Id.; See also, Caldwell v. Mississippi, 472 U.S. 320, 105 S.Ct. 2633, 86 L.Ed.2d 231 (1985). However, in Berry we also pointed out: [V]irtually every person of age eligible for jury service knows that death penalties are reviewed on appeal. There is no absolute prohibition against references to this fact of common knowledge, and this court should not impose an absolute prohibition, since such a reference does not necessarily serve to induce a juror to disregard his responsibility. The issue should be determined in each individual case by viewing such a reference to appellate review in the context in which the remark was made. [Footnote omitted.] Berry, 391 So.2d at 418. In this case, in opening statements during the penalty phase, defense counsel mentioned the fact that defendant receives an automatic appeal. However, the comment was brief, and, in the context in which it was offered, simply presented a picture of the fate of a person sentenced to death. Defense counsel did not argue or imply that the death penalty was not serious or that ultimate responsibility for imposing the death penalty did not rest with the jury. Rather, counsel argued that imposition of the death penalty can create consequences for the victim's family that are sometimes overlooked. The argument did not serve to lessen the significance of the jury's role in the overall scheme. Similarly, defense counsel's comment during voir dire to the effect that the death penalty is rarely imposed did not have the effect of minimizing the seriousness and finality of the death penalty. Instead, the comment emphasizes the fact that the death penalty is so serious it has only been carried out three times in the last few years. While defense counsel's comments may have been delivered in an awkward manner, there is no reasonable possibility the comments led the jury to believe that the responsibility for determining the appropriateness of the defendant's death rests elsewhere or deprived the defendant of a fair trial in the sentencing hearing. Caldwell v. Mississippi, supra ; State v. Jones, 474 So.2d at 930-32. Defendant's assignments of error Numbers 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 lack merit.