Opinion ID: 1919690
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 21

Heading: sentencing instruction s-1 impermissibly placed a thumb on death's side of the scale in violation of state law and the eighth amendment by allowing the jury to weigh both the robbery and pecuniary gain aggravators.

Text: Davis argues that the lower court erred in allowing the prosecution to submit the following aggravators: 1. whether the capital murder was committed intentionally while the defendant was engaged in the commission of armed robbery or flight after committing the crime of armed robbery. 2. whether the capital murder was committed for pecuniary gain. Davis timely objected to the submission of these aggravating circumstances. Therefore, this issue is properly before this Court. Nevertheless, we find this argument devoid of merit. At the time of Davis' trial, Mississippi trial courts could submit an instruction that allowed the jury in capital cases to consider both of these aggravators. However, in Willie v. State, 585 So.2d 660 (Miss. 1991), this Court announced a new rule: When life is at stake, a jury cannot be allowed the opportunity to doubly weigh the commission of the underlying felony and the motive behind the underlying felony as separate aggravators. Willie, 585 So.2d at 661. Willie was decided on July 24, 1991, and this Court declared that [t]his decision [to apply this new rule] is to be prospective and will take effect from this date forward. The words this date refers to July 24, 1991, the day Willie was decided. Conner v. State, 632 So.2d 1239, 1269 (Miss. 1993). In the case sub judice, the sentencing and penalty phase of Davis' trial was completed by March 15, 1991. Therefore, Davis is unable to rely on the rule established in Willie. In Conner v. State, 632 So.2d 1239 (Miss. 1993), this Court rejected the defendant's argument that we must apply the rule enunciated in Willie retroactively. This Court agreed that Teague v. Lane, 489 U.S. 288, 300, 109 S.Ct. 1060, 1069, 103 L.Ed.2d 334 (1989), requires that this Court apply new rules in an evenhanded manner. Specifically, Teague prevents selective prospectivity, e.g., applying the new rule to the defendant in the case where the rule is announced but not to others whose case arose prior to the announcement. Conner, 632 So.2d at 1269. However, the Conner Court rejected the defendant's argument that Willie should be applied retroactively, and opined: Teague in no way forbids the practice of pure prospectivity, in which the new rule is applied neither to the defendant in the case where the rule is announced nor to other defendants whose cases arose before the new rule was announced. Since the defendant in Willie did not benefit from the ruling in that case, Teague, does not apply here. Id. Davis erroneously contends that this Court has applied the Willie decision to cases pending on direct appeal, even where the trial took place before those decisions were issued. Specifically, Davis refers to Jenkins v. State, 607 So.2d 1171 (Miss. 1992). This Court's recent decision in Foster v. State, 639 So.2d 1263 (Miss. 1993), disposes of Davis' argument. In Foster v. State, 639 So.2d 1263 (Miss. 1993), this Court rejected the defendant's argument that Willie had been overruled by Jenkins v. State, 607 So.2d 1171 (Miss. 1992). In Foster, this Court discussed Jenkins and stated: This Court in Jenkins reaffirmed its holding in Willie, pointing to the prospective nature of the decision and reminding the trial courts that it would be reversible error to give the two aggravators separately in future cases subsequent to Willie. The Court in Jenkins, in both the guilt and sentencing phases, emphatically stated those issues which it held were reversible error. The issue of the giving of the two aggravators was not one where the Court held reversible error. Jenkins was reversed on several grounds in both the guilt and sentencing phases, but any suggestion that Jenkins changed Willie is erroneous. Foster, 639 So.2d at 1298-99 (emphasis added). Thus, this assignment of error is without merit. Both Conner and Foster affirm this Court's holding that the new rule announced in Willie is to be applied prospectively from July 24, 1991. Davis was tried, convicted and sentenced to death before July 24, 1991. Davis merits no relief on this issue.