Opinion ID: 1587246
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Goforth's cross-examination of Caudill.

Text: During cross-examination of Caudill by Goforth's attorney, Caudill was asked (a) whether Edna Sharp was mistaken when she testified that she knew Johnathon Goforth? (to which Caudill replied that Sharp was mistaken); (b) whether Steve White was mistaken when he testified that Lonetta White wore a fur coat on the day she visited an attorney (whereas Caudill had said that Lonetta White was wearing a black leather coat)? (to which Caudill replied that she did not know if she or Steve White was mistaken); (c) whether Penny Hunter was mistaken when she testified that she was with Goforth all day in Paris, Kentucky, on the Saturday before the crimes (whereas Caudill had said that Goforth was at a crack house in Lexington that day)? (to which Caudill replied that one of them could be mistaken); (d) whether Cynthia Ellis had lied when she testified that Caudill told her that Caudill had hit Lonetta White with a clock? (to which Caudill replied that Ellis had lied); (e) whether Cynthia Ellis and Julia Davis had lied in their testimonies? (to which Caudill replied that some of the things they said were not true). In Moss v. Commonwealth, Ky., 949 S.W.2d 579 (1997), we held that a witness should not be required to characterize the testimony of another witness as a lie. Id. at 583; see also Tamme, 973 S.W.2d at 28. As in Moss and Tamme , Caudill did not object to any of these questions. As in Moss and Tamme (a death penalty case), we conclude that the totality of the circumstances are persuasive that exclusion of the improper inquiries would not have resulted in different verdicts in this case. Sanders, 801 S.W.2d at 668 (unpreserved error in death penalty case will not result in reversal unless the circumstances in totality are persuasive that, minus the error, the defendant may not have been found guilty of a capital crime, or the death penalty may not have been imposed.); Cosby v. Commonwealth, Ky., 776 S.W.2d 367, 369 (1989), overruled on other grounds by St. Clair v. Roark, Ky., 10 S.W.3d 482, 487 (1999).