Opinion ID: 1708859
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 13

Heading: Comparison to first jury verdict.

Text: Both of the attorneys for the state made reference to the fact that the jury in the murder of Mrs. McWilliams did not return the death penalty. Mr. Davis made the following statements: He's been convicted of aggravated assault. He's been convicted of capital murder. I'm not trying to pull the wool over your eyes. The capital murder that he was convicted of was of Nell McWilliams. That's a circumstance that you can consider. I think you heard the lady read what happened. We, the jury, cannot agree upon the penalty. Mr. Peters made the following remarks: This is our last chance. All it took  and I don't know how many there were  but all it took was one person last time to say I'm not gonna vote for the death penalty for any reason. And, God knows, I can't think why they would have done it. After blowing that woman's head off. And, as hard a pill as it was for us to swallow, we still had this case left. But this is it. Fortunately, the last time it happened we got another chance. And I have thought for all of these months  what in the world did I not say? But, please forgive me, this is my last chance. This is the state of Mississippi's last chance. This is the relatives of the McWilliams last chance for retribution. [emphasis added] These remarks were not, in themselves, reversible error. The question is whether the prosecutor's remarks denied Jimbo Stringer a fundamentally fair trial, with regard to his sentencing. United States v. Young, 470 U.S. 1, 105 S.Ct. 1038, 84 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985). We hold that these remarks, combined with: the introduction of photographs of Mrs. McWilliams; the photographic slide display of Mrs. McWilliams' body during closing argument; the attempt to extract a pledge or promise during voir dire in violation of Circuit Court Rule 5.02, and the subsequent calling on the jurors to fulfill that promise; the attempt to prevent the defendant from producing John Mack Parker, the trigger man, as a witness; and the veiled attempt to comment on the defendant's failure to testify, each of which, when standing alone, may not have required reversal, when accumulated, created such an atmosphere of bias, passion, and prejudice that they effectively denied Jimbo Stringer a fundamentally fair trial in the sentencing phase. United States v. Young ; Williams v. State, 445 So.2d 798, 810 (Miss. 1984): Collins v. State, 408 So.2d 1376, 1380 (Miss. 1982).