Opinion ID: 1626048
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 14

Heading: the death penalty imposed in this case is disproportionate to the penalties imposed in other capital murder cases in mississippi.

Text: Jordan contends under this assignment (1) that this Court has interpreted the statute too narrowly by confining its proportionality review to cases in which the death penalty was imposed. In Pulley v. Harris, 465 U.S. 37, 104 S.Ct. 871, 79 L.Ed.2d 29 (1984), the Court held that such a review is not constitutionally mandated. In Gray v. Lucas, 677 F.2d 1086 (5th Cir.1982), the Fifth Circuit said: Gray claims that the Mississippi Supreme Court's comparative review of death sentences is flawed since the court only compared Gray's case with those cases where the death sentence had been imposed and not with all the cases where it could have been imposed. Because the Supreme Court has rejected a similar argument in Proffitt v. Florida, 428 U.S. 242, 258-59 fn. 16, 96 S.Ct. 2960, 2969-70 fn. 16, 49 L.Ed.2d 913 (1976), we reject this claim as well. 677 F.2d at 1111. Jordan contends (2) that even if this Court reviews only cases in which the death penalty was imposed, it should conclude that the death sentence is excessive and disproportionate in this case. In Jordan v. State, 365 So.2d 1198, 1206, 1207 (Miss. 1978), decided November 22, 1978, this Court reviewed Mississippi cases to that time for the purpose of determining whether or not the sentence of death was excessive and disproportionate as to Jordan. We now have reviewed those cases under consideration by this Court since Jordan, supra, and both reviews have convinced us that the death penalty here is not excessive when the aggravating and mitigating circumstances are weighed against each other and that infliction of the death penalty here will not be either wanton or freakish and will be consistent and evenhanded with other death penalty cases previously affirmed by this Court. Therefore, we reject this assignment of error. Finding that there are no reversible errors in the record, the judgment of the lower court is affirmed and Wednesday, the 6th day of March, 1985, is fixed as the date for execution of the death penalty in the manner provided by law. AFFIRMED. PATTERSON, C.J., WALKER, P.J., and HAWKINS, DAN M. LEE, PRATHER, ROBERTSON, SULLIVAN and ANDERSON, JJ., concur as to Parts I-VIII, and Parts X-XI. As to Part IX: PATTERSON, C.J., WALKER, P.J., and DAN M. LEE, and ANDERSON, JJ., concur. ROBERTSON, HAWKINS, SULLIVAN and PRATHER, JJ., dissent.