Opinion ID: 1060373
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Testimony of Terry Casteel

Text: Terry Casteel testified that he had used Austin's Cadillac to drive Marilyn Pryor to her home in Greenwood, Mississippi, two or three days after Watkins' murder. On cross-examination, defense counsel asked Casteel if he knew that Austin had reported to the Memphis Police Department that the automobile had been stolen. After Casteel answered that he had been told that Austin had made the report, the trial court sustained the State's hearsay objection. Austin complains that the trial court erred by excluding as hearsay Casteel's acknowledgment that Austin reported his automobile stolen. The defense theory was that Austin would not have alerted the police to look for the automobile while Casteel was using it if the two men had been accomplices in Watkins' murder. Evidence that Austin reported his automobile stolen therefore was relevant to rebut proof that Austin had orchestrated Watkins' murder with Casteel and Blankenship. As we indicated above, hearsay is admissible in a capital sentencing hearing. Therefore, the trial court erred in sustaining the State's hearsay objection. We conclude, however, that any error in failing to admit Casteel's statement was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury was unlikely to find that Austin's reporting the automobile stolen several days after the shooting rebutted the overwhelming evidence establishing that Austin and Casteel were accomplices in Watkins' murder.