Opinion ID: 1598918
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 14

Heading: The Use of Racial Epithets:

Text: ¶ 111. Burns contends that the State injected racial prejudice into the trial when it mentioned the letters Burns wrote to Kohlheim in which he referred to her as My Nigga. The State contends the prosecution was attempting to rebut any mitigation by describing Burns' character in that he does not respect people in general. The passage to which Burns refers follows: [MR. YOUNG:] ... Throughout these letters, it's nothing but hatred for his fellow man and woman. It talks about I'm a state inmate and that's my rights anyway. I hope this MF'er don't think I'm stupid for no means. In one part it says, I'm not mad at you anymorethis is his letter to Contina Kohlheimit's hard to make me mad. You think he wasn't mad when he killed Mike McBride for no reason? Then to show he's proud of this, love you, JoJo, insane disciple, bragging. Plenty much love. My N-I-G-G-A, another word that shouldn't be in the English vocabulary, but another word of contempt, hatred and disrespect for mankind. ¶ 112. By failing to offer a contemporaneous objection or to raise this issue in post-trial motions, Burns is procedurally barred from raising the issue for the first time on appeal. See Davis v. State, 660 So.2d 1228, 1247 (Miss.1995) ( citing Foster v. State, 639 So.2d 1263, 1289 (Miss.1994); Russell v. State, 607 So.2d 1107 (Miss.1992); Fleming v. State, 604 So.2d 280 (Miss.1992); Cole v. State, 525 So.2d 365 (Miss.1987), cert denied, 488 U.S. 934, 109 S.Ct. 330, 102 L.Ed.2d 348(1988)). ¶ 113. The prosecutor was simply making the character of the defendant clear to the jury. We find that the prosecutor was well within his rights to use any attribute of the defendant's character to rebut mitigating factors. The court below instructed the jury to consider any circumstance surrounding the life and character of the defendant as mitigating factors. All the prosecutor was attempting to show is that the life and circumstances of Burns were not mitigating factors. The foregoing argument aside, this issue is procedurally barred and not properly before this Court.