Opinion ID: 1288587
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Erroneous Instruction Regarding Wilson's Unsworn Statement

Text: Wilson next contends that the trial court improperly instructed the jury during the penalty phase that his unsworn statement was not evidence, and that this limited the jury's consideration of relevant mitigating evidence. Wilson's unsworn statement included evidence of his youth, his alcoholism, and his remorse for the offense. The trial court instructed the jury as follows regarding the statement: In this phase, the Defendant made a statement, but he did not testify under oath and was not subject to cross-examination. It is his right under Ohio law to make such a statement and this statement of the Defendant, although not considered evidence, may be considered by you for whatever purpose you would assign. (JA 1412-13 (emphasis added).) Assuming that this argument is properly preserved, it is without merit. Under the Eighth Amendment, the jury in a capital case may `not be precluded from considering, as a mitigating factor, any aspect of a defendant's character or record and any of the circumstances of the offense that the defendant proffers as a basis for a sentence less than death.' Mason v. Mitchell, 320 F.3d 604, 618 (6th Cir.2003) (quoting Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U.S. 586, 604, 98 S.Ct. 2954, 57 L.Ed.2d 973 (1978)). [A] jury instruction violates Lockett when there is a reasonable likelihood that the jury has applied the challenged instruction in a way that prevents the consideration of constitutionally relevant evidence. Gall v. Parker, 231 F.3d 265, 324 (6th Cir.2000) (citing Boyde v. California, 494 U.S. 370, 380, 110 S.Ct. 1190, 108 L.Ed.2d 316 (1990)). Wilson is entitled to habeas relief on this claim if the instruction by itself so infected the entire trial that the resulting conviction violates due process. Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 72, 112 S.Ct. 475, 116 L.Ed.2d 385 (1991) (citation omitted). Although the trial court instructed that Wilson's statement was not evidence, the court also instructed that the jury may consider it for whatever purpose it would assign. In short, there is no reasonable likelihood that the instructions prevented the jury's consideration of the statement. Additionally, even assuming that the instructions were problematic, the jury considered similar mitigating evidence from other witnesses at sentencing, so the instructions regarding his statement could not have so infected the entire trial as to violate due process. This claim is therefore without merit.