Opinion ID: 1533871
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 26

Heading: Penalty Phase Charge to Jury

Text: At the close of the penalty phase, the trial court charged the jury with its responsibilities during deliberation surrounding penalty issues. Appellant argues that the charge of the trial court was in error for six independent reasons, each of which Appellant contends entitles him to a new sentencing hearing. We address each claim in turn. A. Appellant Claims That The Trial Court Erred By Failing To Sua Sponte Advise The Jury That A Life Sentence Means Life Without Parole Appellant alleges that the trial court erred by not advising the jury that a defendant sentenced to life may not be paroled. Appellant is only entitled to a Simmons instruction when the prosecution argues that Appellant is a future danger to the community. Simmons v. South Carolina, 512 U.S. 154, 114 S.Ct. 2187, 129 L.Ed.2d 133 (1994). A Simmons instruction is required to be given only in those cases where the future dangerousness of the defendant is at issue in the penalty phase. Commonwealth v. Chester, 557 Pa. 358, 733 A.2d 1242, 1257 (1999). In this case, however, the prosecutor did not argue that Appellant would be a future danger to the public. Consequently, this claim lacks merit.
Appellant claims that the trial transcript shows that the trial judge improperly charged the jury with its duty to find aggravating circumstances unanimously. Appellant also argues that the Commonwealth should not have been allowed to correct an error in the trial court transcript. Appellant points out that the trial transcript originally read as follows: After considering any unanimous aggravating circumstances and as many mitigating circumstances as you individually may find, if you decide at least one aggravating circumstance and no mitigating circumstances exist, or if you are unable to find that one or more aggravating circumstances outweigh any mitigating circumstances, the verdict must be death. In all other cases, the verdict must be a sentence of life imprisonment. Brief of Appellant at 40 (emphasis added). However, after a hearing on the issue and listening to the testimony of the stenographer, who testified that the trial court actually said unanimously instead of are unable to[,] the trial court ordered the transcript amended to read as follows: After considering any unanimous aggravating circumstances and as many mitigating circumstances as you individually may find, if you decide at least one aggravating circumstance and no mitigating circumstances exist, or if you unanimously [are unable to] find that one or more aggravating circumstances outweigh any mitigating circumstances, the verdict must be death. In all other cases, the verdict must be a sentence of life imprisonment. N.T. 10/9/96 at 97; 5/25/00 at 36 (emphasis added). Because the charge, as given to the jury, properly instructed the jury on its responsibilities pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 9711(c)(1)(iv), this claim of trial court error does not entitle Appellant to a new sentencing hearing. Appellant also asserts that the procedure used by the prosecution to correct the record was improper. Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 115(C) and Pennsylvania Rule of Appellate Procedure 1926 permit the trial court to conduct a hearing to determine whether a record should be corrected and authorize the correction in the event that an error occurred. Rule 115(C) provides [a]t any time before an appeal is taken the court may correct or modify the record in the same manner as provided by Rule 1926 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate Procedure. Rule 1926 provides, in pertinent part, if any difference arises as to whether the record truly discloses what occurred in the lower court, the difference shall be submitted to and settled by that court after notice to the parties and opportunity for objection, and the record made to conform to the truth. In this case, the trial court conducted a hearing to determine the true content of the record and had the benefit of listening to the testimony of the stenographer, who testified that the trial judge properly used the word unanimously, but that the stenographer had mistakenly transcribed the word. N.T. 5/25/00 at 6-15. The trial court, thereby, properly applied the statute and corrected the transcript. Commonwealth v. Harris, 550 Pa. 92, 703 A.2d 441, 450 (1997), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 1015, 119 S.Ct. 538, 142 L.Ed.2d 447 (1998). We also reject Appellant's claim of trial counsel ineffectiveness for failing to object to a proper charge. Similarly, the claim of Appellant that he received ineffective assistance of counsel due counsel's failure to argue that the charge did not properly explain the verdict slip is not meritorious because the actual charge the judge read to the jury was correct.
Appellant argues that the trial court should have given a curative instruction to the jury because, he contends, the prosecutor led the jury to believe that it could only consider the mitigating circumstances of extreme mental or emotional disturbance and diminished capacity (42 Pa.C.S. § 9711(e)(3) and (4)) and not other mental and emotional factors relevant to the catchall mitigator. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9711(e)(8). The prosecutor did no such thing. The prosecutor merely pointed out that Dr. Ganime, the psychiatrist who testified on behalf of Appellant, did not state that Appellant suffered from a severe mental illness. He agreed with the prosecutor that Appellant was not suffering from a major mental illness because he did not have schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or another major depressive disorder. N.T. 10/9/96 at 33, 80-82. As to mental or emotional disturbance, the prosecutor accurately referred to the testimony when she stated: Did you hear anything that amounts to extreme mental or emotional disturbance? What you heard is that the defendant was concerned about money, he was concerned about where he was going to live, he was concerned about his job, same kind of things that we're all concerned about. He wasn't seeing a psychiatrist because he had any major mental illness, he was seeing a doctor so he would have somebody to talk to when he felt like talking and to get some advice. Id. at 80. With regard to the catchall mitigator and the claim of Appellant that his emotional distress should be deemed to satisfy it, the prosecutor did not say that Appellant had to be suffering from major mental illness for the jury to consider the claim of Appellant that his alleged emotional disturbance satisfied the catchall. She merely pointed out that he was not emotionally disturbed at the time of the killing [and] that there has been no such diagnosis that he suffered from childhood abuse that affected his emotional and psychological development. N.T. 10/9/96 at 98-100. Significantly, the trial court instructed the jury that it must consider the catchall mitigator and that it could consider the emotional and mental condition of Appellant there. The trial court charged the jury that it: may consider any other evidence of mitigation concerning the character and record of the defendant and the circumstances of his offense, and under that the defendant submitted three items: Number 1, the defendant was emotionally disturbed at the time of the killing... 2, the defendant suffered from childhood abuse that affected his emotional and psychological development; and, 3, the defendant has attempted to better himself through life either by seeing a psychiatrist to deal with his emotional problems or by attempting to join the Army Reserves or working at various jobs to support himself. Id. at 99-100. Clearly, the trial court charged the jury that it could consider emotional disturbance as a mitigating factor pursuant to the catchall provision. The statements of the prosecutor were appropriate and the trial court read to the jury a proper instruction. For similar reasons, the claim of Appellant that his attorney was ineffective for failing to object to the proper instruction and to the statements of the prosecutor is baseless because the underlying claim is not meritorious.
Appellant claims that the sentence of death must be set aside because the trial court, when charging the jury with the aggravator of committing murder during the perpetration of a felony, did not repeat the elements of the underlying felony, which it had read to the jury during the guilt phase. Because the same jury found, during the guilt phase, that Appellant had committed the felony of attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, there is no reason for it to reconsider that issue during the penalty phase. At the penalty phase, the jury must determine whether Appellant committed the murder during the commission of a felony, not whether Appellant committed the felony. There was simply no reason to re-instruct the jury to find facts it has already resolved. Commonwealth v. Tilley, 528 Pa. 125, 595 A.2d 575, 585 (1991). The claim of Appellant that his attorney was ineffective for failing to insist that the jury be charged with the elements of the underlying offense is baseless because the underlying claim is not meritorious. [30]
Appellant next submits that some unidentified portion of the charge the trial court read to the jury was constitutionally infirm because it precluded any finding of mercy even arising out of the evidence. Brief of Appellant at 77. The trial court properly charged the jury with the law. The jury was instructed to consider the mitigating factors set forth in 42 Pa.C.S. § 9711(e). The trial court also acted to protect Appellant from prejudice by charging the jury that it should not decide the penalty out of any feelings of vengeance or prejudice against the defendant. N.T. 10/9/96 at 97. The charge did not inhibit the jury from the consideration of the evidence or finding that the evidence warranted a finding that Appellant did not deserve to receive the death penalty. [31]
Appellant avers that the verdict slip violated Mills v. Maryland, 486 U.S. 367, 108 S.Ct. 1860, 100 L.Ed.2d 384 (1988), because it purportedly did not advise jurors that: any one of them could find a mitigating circumstance; the finding of the existence of mitigating circumstances need not be unanimous; and any mitigating circumstance found by any one juror could outweigh the aggravating circumstances. We disagree. The trial court properly charged the jury that: your findings as to mitigating circumstances do not need to be unanimous. Each of you is free to regard a particular mitigating circumstance as present, despite what other jurors may believe. A defendant must have the full benefit of any mitigating circumstance, and each juror is permitted to consider and to give effect to mitigating evidence when deciding the ultimate question, whether to vote for a sentence of life or death. After considering any unanimous aggravating circumstances and as many mitigating circumstances as you individually may find, if you decide at least one aggravating circumstance and no mitigating circumstances exist, or if you unanimously find that one or more aggravating circumstances outweigh any mitigating circumstances, the verdict must be death. In all other cases, the verdict must be a sentence of life imprisonment. If you do not agree on one or the other of these findings, a sentence of life must be imposed. N.T. 10/9/96 at 97. Because the trial court made it clear that any one juror could find the existence of a mitigating circumstance and that any mitigating circumstances could outweigh aggravating circumstances, this claim of error and its accompanying claim of ineffective assistance of counsel are without merit and do not entitle Appellant to a new sentencing hearing.