Opinion ID: 1090514
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Defendant's Statements to Newspaper Reporter

Text: While awaiting trial, Franklin contacted a newspaper reporter and gave an interview in which he made inculpatory statements about Lawley's shooting. The parties agreed to redact those portions of the taped interview in which Franklin discussed the other crimes he had committed. However, Franklin also wanted three other portions of the tape redacted, including statements that Franklin had decided to confess because he was tired of life and tired of being treated just like an animal; that he saw a helicopter looking for the car he was in and that he was hiding from the helicopter; and his admission that he committed the crime, but that the people, the world, life were the cause of his actions and that he was tired of people watching him and hating him and that he hated life. [8] Defense counsel posed a relevance objection to the statements regarding Franklin's motivation in confessing. He objected to the helicopter statement on the grounds that the jury might speculate that the car Franklin occupied had been stolen or had been used for some other crime. Defense counsel renewed these objections when the tape was admitted during the guilt phase of trial, but the court overruled the objections and admitted these portions of the taped interview. Franklin argues that the introduction of this evidence at the guilt phase was unfairly prejudicial. Under Florida law, all relevant evidence, defined as that tending to prove or disprove a material fact, is admissible unless otherwise provided by law. See §§ 90.401-90.402, Fla. Stat. (2005). Relevant evidence is inadmissible, however, where the probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. See § 90.403, Fla. Stat. (2005). The admissibility of evidence is within the sound discretion of the trial court, and the trial court's determination will not be disturbed on appellate review absent a clear abuse of that discretion. See, e.g., Brooks v. State, 918 So.2d 181, 203 (Fla.2005), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 126 S.Ct. 2294, 164 L.Ed.2d 820 (2006); Ray v. State, 755 So.2d 604, 610 (Fla.2000); Zack v. State, 753 So.2d 9, 25 (Fla.2000). The basis of Franklin's objection to the helicopter statement was highly speculative. The jury knew that Lawley had identified his assailant and the car he was driving. It was logical that the police would be looking for this vehicle near the murder scene. Franklin's statement that he hid from the helicopter and fled to St. Petersburg was relevant to explaining his subsequent arrest in St. Petersburg while seated in the driver's seat of the car. Nothing in this statement would give the jury any hint that the car in question was stolen or that it was being sought in another crime. Thus, Franklin has not shown that the trial court abused its discretion by allowing this statement into evidence. Franklin objected to the other two statements on the grounds of relevancy. The State argues that these statements were relevant to Franklin's motivation for confessing and talking to the reporter. However, Franklin's motivation for talking to the reporter was not germane to the question of his guilt or innocence. While Franklin's admission to the reporter that he did it (shot Lawley) was relevant, his other statements surrounding this one-sentence admission were not relevant to any issue in the case. Moreover, this one-sentence admission was not Franklin's only confession to the crime. The jury heard Franklin's statement to the police in which he admitted shooting Lawley and that he had intended to rob him. Thus, we conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting these statements, other than the admission of guilt. However, we conclude that any error in admitting Franklin's statements to the reporter was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. See State v. DiGuilio, 491 So.2d 1129, 1138 (Fla.1986). Even without these statements, the jury heard Franklin's confessions to the police, Lawley's description of the events and his assailant, and the forensic evidence that tied Franklin's gun to the shooting. Thus, we conclude that these statements did not contribute to the jury's guilty verdict. As to the imposition of the death sentence, the jury knew about Franklin's status of imprisonment at the time of the crime, heard about his recent violent crime spree and his history of violent crimes, heard about the pecuniary gain motive for the shooting in Franklin's own statements, and heard the CCP circumstances of the murder. Thus, we conclude that there is no reasonable probability that Franklin's statements about disillusionment with life contributed to the jury's recommendation of a death sentence. Franklin is not entitled to relief on this claim.