Opinion ID: 1730477
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 35

Heading: the trial court erred in refusing to give peremptory instructions on the undisputed mitigating circumstances.

Text: During the sentencing phase, Carr presented the trial court with five instructions to the jury that they must find as mitigating factors: that Carr had no significant history of criminal activity; that the capital offense was committed while Carr was under extreme mental or emotional disturbance; that Carr's capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct was substantially impaired; that Carr was an accomplice in the capital offense committed by another person and that his participation was relatively minor; and that Carr acted under extreme duress or under the substantial domination of another person. The trial court refused to give these instructions, finding them peremptory in nature. Carr alleges that because the Mississippi legislature has deemed these factors mitigating, [7] and because there was no evidence presented to rebut these factors, he was entitled to have the jury so instructed. The State denies that these factors were uncontested. The jurors were instructed on the mitigating circumstances, pursuant to the defense's submitted instructions. Moreover, the jury was further instructed: you, as individual jurors, must consider mitigating circumstances, if you find any to exist. Therefore, even if all other eleven jurors find that a certain mitigating circumstance does not exist, if you believe it does exist, you must find that mitigating circumstance, and weigh it in your further deliberations. In Wiley v. State, 484 So.2d 339 (Miss. 1986), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 906, 107 S.Ct. 304, 93 L.Ed.2d 278 (1986), and overruled on other grounds by Willie v. State, 585 So.2d 660 (Miss. 1991), this Court reiterated the standard for considering peremptory instructions: In determining whether a peremptory instruction should be granted and whether the verdict is contrary to the overwhelming weight of the evidence, the Court is required to accept as true all of the evidence favorable to the State, together with reasonable inferences arising therefrom, to disregard that evidence favorable to the defendant, and, if such evidence will support a verdict of guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the peremptory instruction should be refused. Id. at 349-350. ( quoting Carroll v. State, 396 So.2d 1033, 1035 (Miss. 1981) (citations omitted)). After examining the record, we find sufficient evidence that the mitigating factors should have been left for the jury's consideration. For example, Carr had been previously convicted of grand larceny; thus, the mitigating factor of whether Carr had a significant history of criminal activity was contested. The factor regarding whether Carr was under extreme emotional disturbance was based solely on the testimony of Dr. Kallman. It was for the jury to decide if Dr. Kallman was a credible witness. The same is true of the other mitigating factors. Moreover, this Court has held: The Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution require that the jury not be precluded from considering as a mitigating factor, any aspect of a defendant's character or record and any of the circumstances of the offense that the defendant proffers as a basis for a sentence less than death. Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U.S. 586, 604, 98 S.Ct. 2954, 2964-65, 57 L.Ed.2d 973, 990 (1978). This requirement, however, does not prevent the prosecution from offering rebuttal evidence as to the existence of the mitigating circumstances. Faraga v. State, 514 So.2d 295, 304 (Miss. 1987), cert. denied, 487 U.S. 1210, 108 S.Ct. 2858, 101 L.Ed.2d 894 (1988). Ladner, 584 So.2d at 762. We did not state that the jury must find these factors. That is left to the province of the jury. See also, Miss. Code Ann.  99-19-101(3) (Supp. 1993). We find the evidence in the case sub judice supports the verdict beyond a reasonable doubt. The peremptory instruction was properly refused. See Wiley v. State, 484 So.2d 339 (Miss. 1986) overruled on other grounds. This assignment of error is without merit.