Opinion ID: 1706950
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: S-1 is erroneous because it has a signature line only under the death option.

Text: ¶ 73. Instruction S-1 lists the aggravating and mitigating circumstances and the three sentencing options of death, life and unable to agree. However, the signature line for the jury foreman is under option one, the death option. Bell argues that this instruction is seriously misleading because it could cause the jury to neglect the other two options. Jenkins v. State, 607 So.2d 1171, 1180 (Miss.1992). In Jenkins the Court condemned an instruction which listed the sentencing options so printed as to possibly cause the jury to overlook the lesser options. The form of the verdict for the death penalty was printed on page three, and concluded with a line designated for the foreman's signature. Page four contained options for a verdict for life, and the inability of the jury to reach a unanimous verdict as to the sentence. There was no provision for the foreman's signature following the latter options. In Jenkins, it was the fact that the page break in the instruction occurred after the signature line, separating the second and third options entirely, that prompted the Court to suggest that on retrial the instruction be revised to more clearly instruct the jury. The Court did not in Jenkins find this imperfection to be grounds for reversal. Here, the same problem does not exist, and although we continue to believe that this form should be revised for the sake of clarity, the pagination of the instruction does not separate the life imprisonment and deadlock options from the death penalty option. We do not find that this flaw rises to the level of reversible error.