Opinion ID: 2076252
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Prosecutor's Comments on Hunt's Allocution

Text: A defendant in a death penalty sentencing proceeding may give an allocution to the jury. Maryland Rule 4-343(d). An allocution is the defendant's opportunity to give an unsworn statement to the jury, without the danger of cross-examination. Booth, 306 Md. at 198, 507 A.2d at 1111. The jury may consider the allocution and find the existence of a mitigating factor based upon it. Id. at 198-99, 507 A.2d at 1111-12. While denied the opportunity to cross examine the defendant, the prosecutor may comment upon the allocution. In Booth we held that an allocution is more like testimony than silence, and that the defendant waives any privilege against comment by the prosecutor. We further held that the prosecutor is free to tell the jury that they should not consider the defendant's allocution; however, the prosecutor is not free to tell the jury that they could not consider the allocution. Booth, 306 Md. at 199, 507 A.2d at 1112. The prosecutor's remarks came close to, but did not cross the line. They were a strong suggestion that the jury should not consider Hunt's allocution rather than an argument that they could not consider Hunt's allocution. We cannot say that the trial judge committed reversible error when he overruled Hunt's objection. Collins, 318 Md. at 279 n. 7, 568 A.2d at 5 n. 7. See also Donnelly v. DeChristoforo, 416 U.S. 637, 645-46, 94 S.Ct. 1868, 1872, 40 L.Ed.2d 431, 438 (1974). We note, however, that the prosecutor could have expressed his argument in more appropriate terms. The duty of the prosecutor is to seek justice, not merely to convict. 1 ABA Standards for Criminal Justice, § 3-1.1(c).