Opinion ID: 1664341
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Victim's Impact Reference During Closing Argument

Text: The appellant argues that the prosecutor used improper victim impact references during his closing argument to the jury. The State contends that since appellant's counsel offered testimony for the impact upon the appellant's family asking the jury to spare his life, the prosecutor's comment on the evidence was not inappropriate because it merely showed that the victim's family had also suffered. The trial court excluded victim impact evidence as irrelevant in the case-in-chief and rebuttal, but allowed the State to argue inferences of proof in their closing argument. The contested portion of the argument is: The defendant's family asks you to spare the defendant's life. Don't you think that Nicki Reed's family would have given anything they had to be out on that boat dock begging this defendant not to kill Nicki? Don't you think they would give anything they had not to have to go to bed at night knowing that their little eight-year old baby died at the bottom of the Wolf River, naked, violated, cold and alone? Don't you think, ladies and gentlemen, they would give anything they had to be able to sayto tuck little Nicki in bed at night and say, honey, that monster wasn't real. Specifically, the appellant contends this argument was improper because only evidence relating to the aggravating or mitigating circumstances is relevant in a sentencing hearing, and therefore argument about irrelevant matters is improper citing Cozzolino v. State, 584 S.W.2d 765, 768 (Tenn.1979). Additionally, he states that this inflammatory argument caused the jury to impose the death penalty in an arbitrary and capricious manner thereby diminishing his rights under the Eighth Amendment with an emotional appeal. There exists no per se bar under the Eighth Amendment to the admissibility of victim's impact evidence. Nesbit, 978 S.W.2d 872; Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808, 111 S.Ct. 2597, 115 L.Ed.2d 720 (1991); Bigbee, 885 S.W.2d at 811-812. Thus, the appellant's constitutional challenge is excluded. As to the appellant's challenge under our sentencing scheme, our supreme court recently observed, the impact of the crime on the victim's immediate family is one of those myriad factors encompassed within the statutory language nature and circumstances of the crime. Nesbit, 978 S.W.2d 872; see Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-13-204(c). This holding in Nesbit permits only that victim impact evidence which is not so prejudicial that it renders the trial fundamentally unfair, Nesbit, 978 S.W.2d 872 (citing Payne, 501 U.S. at 825, 111 S.Ct. at 2608) or that which should be excluded under Tenn.R.Evid. 403. As well, prosecutorial argument of victim impact evidence must be exercised with restraint. Nesbit, 978 S.W.2d 872 (inflammatory rhetoric that divert the jury's attention from its proper role or invites an irrational, purely emotional response to the evidence is not permissible and should not be tolerated by the court.). In order to determine whether the prosecutor's comment requires reversal, we must determine whether the argument affected the verdict to the prejudice of the defendant. Bigbee, 885 S.W.2d at 809 (quoting Harrington v. State, 215 Tenn. 338, 385 S.W.2d 758, 759 (1965)). Our supreme court has outlined the following factors for us to consider: (1) the conduct complained of viewed in light of the facts and circumstances of the case: (2) the curative measures undertaken by the court and the prosecution; (3) the intent of the prosecutor in making the improper arguments; (4) the cumulative effect of the improper conduct and any other errors in the record; and (5) the relative strength and weakness of the case. Nesbit, 978 S.W.2d 872. We conclude that the State did not over emphasize the victim impact evidence in its closing argument. Nothing in the record indicates that the prosecutor acted in bad faith. Even though the trial court allowed the prosecutor to argue victim's impact inferences from the evidence, the trial court instructed the jury, the court has read to you the aggravating circumstances which the law requires you to consider if you find that they have been established by the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. You shall not take account of any other aggravating facts or circumstances as the basis for deciding whether the death penalty would be appropriate punishment in this case. The jury was instructed not to consider victim impact evidence to determine whether or not to impose the death penalty. It is well settled in the state of Tennessee that a jury is presumed to have followed a trial court's instructions. State v. Lawson, 695 S.W.2d 202, 204 (Tenn.Crim.App.1985); State v. Blackmon, 701 S.W.2d 228, 233 (Tenn.Crim.App.), perm. to appeal denied, (Tenn.1985). In light of the strong evidence against the appellant in support of the aggravating factors, we believe the prosecutor's comment in no manner affected the verdict rendered by the jury. Therefore, this issue is without merit.