Opinion ID: 1060730
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: After-Effect of Verdict

Text: Defendant requested that the jury be instructed that they were to presume that if the defendant were sentenced to life imprisonment, he would spend the rest of his life in prison; and that if he were sentenced to death, he would be executed by electrocution. Alternatively, the defendant requested that the jury be instructed that a sentence of life imprisonment meant the defendant would remain in prison for the rest of his life, and that a sentence of death meant that the defendant would be executed by electrocution. These requests were rejected by the trial court. Our Supreme Court has recently ruled that the jury need not be given information about parole availability. State v. Bush, 942 S.W.2d 489 (1997). Likewise, a trial court does not err by refusing to instruct jurors that they should presume that the sentence they assess will actually be carried out. State v. Caughron, 855 S.W.2d 526, 543 (Tenn.1993); see also Smith II, 857 S.W.2d at 11. This issue is without merit.