Opinion ID: 1927470
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 14

Heading: prosecutorial misconduct penalty phase

Text: Appellant's final allegation of error is that the prosecutor committed prosecutorial misconduct by making two improper remarks during his closing argument at the penalty phase of trial when urging the jury to impose the sentence of death. During the sentencing phase of a capital case, a prosecutor must be afforded reasonable latitude in arguing his position to the jury and he may employ oratorical flair in arguing in favor of the death penalty. Commonwealth v. Basemore, 525 Pa. 512, 528, 582 A.2d 861, 869 (1990), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 1102, 112 S.Ct. 1191, 117 L.Ed.2d 432 (1992). Moreover, the prosecutor is entitled to fairly respond to evidence presented by the defendant or to closing remarks made by defendant's counsel. Commonwealth v. Hall, 523 Pa. 75, 565 A.2d 144 (1989). Appellant first contends that the following remarks during the prosecutor's closing at the penalty phase were improper because he asked the jury to sentence appellant to death to prevent future molestations of women: Does he [appellant] have a mental disease? No. Is he above average intelligence? Yes. There is nothing wrong with him. Why does the defense give you that? Not only that, Dr. Tepper [appellant's psychological expert] told you that this is a man that has emotions and anger that he represses and there is no telling when he is going to let that out. At any moment that could explode forth and somebody else is strangled, somebody else's little girl is sexually molested. (N.T. 8/25/94 at 616). We disagree with appellant's contention. Standing alone, such a contention may be meritorious; but here, during the penalty hearing, appellant presented his psychological expert to support the mitigating circumstance of any other mitigating factor concerning the character of appellant or the circumstance surrounding the crime. [15] During his testimony, appellant's expert testified that appellant is of average to high average intelligence. [16] The expert opined that appellant is not suffering from any psychiatric disorder and is in touch with reality. The expert also testified that appellant tends to suppress his emotions. Moreover, the expert believed that if appellant were placed under too much stress, he could act on his repressed emotions. Appellant's expert admitted that if appellant acted on his repressed emotions, he could possibly sexually molest or kill other women. However, the expert opined that there were no physical symptoms present which could accurately predict whether appellant would act on his impulses. Based on the testimony of appellant's expert, we conclude that the prosecutor's comments here did not simply ask the jury to impose the death penalty in order to prevent future sexual molestations. Rather, the prosecutor's comments were an accurate summary of the testimony given by appellant's expert and were used by the prosecutor to demonstrate why the any other mitigating factor did not apply. Therefore, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding that the prosecutor's comments were proper remarks which did not cause the jury to form a fixed bias or hostility towards appellant. Accordingly, this claim of prosecutorial misconduct must fail. The other closing statement at the penalty phase of trial which appellant claims was improper was the following statement by the prosecutor over the danger appellant could pose to prison personnel: How many other people must die when he can't control his impulses? How do we know he is not going to be able to control it and some prison guard is walking there, doesn't know what is going on, and the next thing you know he is dead; or some other guy he's in prison with or somebody who is visiting. How do we know he won't be able to control that impulse? Dr. Tepper doesn't know and he's an expert. He can't tell you what to look for. (N.T. 8/25/94 at 620). This argument was a fair inference which could be drawn from appellant's psychological expert testimony that appellant repressed his feelings and that when stressed, appellant is prone to outbursts of aggression because he cannot control these repressed feelings. After reviewing these particular remarks, as well as the remainder of the prosecutor's closing arguments, we are convinced that appellant was not unduly prejudiced by this portion of the prosecutor's closing argument so as not to receive a fair penalty hearing. See Commonwealth v. Griffin, 537 Pa. 447, 460-63, 644 A.2d 1167, 1174-75 (1994) (prosecutor's comment to impose death penalty in order to protect prison personnel not improper when made in response to defendant's counsel's argument that defendant not a danger to community). Accordingly, this claim of prosecutorial misconduct during the penalty phase of trial must fail.