Opinion ID: 844251
Heading Depth: 7
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Prospective Juror R.G.

Text: The record on a whole reflects that Prospective Juror R.G. indicated that his clear opposition to the death penalty rendered him unable to serve as a capital juror. Although R.G. indicated his general willingness to follow the law if his personal feelings conflicted with the court's instructions, when asked specifically about his ability to be impartial in deciding whether to impose a death sentence, however, R.G. responded negatively. That is, he selected option b in answer to question No. 46, quoted above, vowing to always vote for a penalty of life without possibility of parole if guided by his personal feelings, regardless of what the evidence showed. R.G.'s personal expressions confirmed his resolve to never impose the death penalty. R.G. described his general feelings about the death penalty in simple, unambiguous terms: Thou shal[l] not kill, explaining that man is not God. Also, R.G. believed that [n]o one has the right to kill another human being as despicable as that person might be. In expressing his opinion about the death penalty in practical terms, R.G. stated the death penalty only serves to sell newspapers and was ineffective as punishment. In sum, R.G.'s questionnaire responses, taken together, make it clear that he was unable to set aside his views on the death penalty, follow the law and the trial court's instructions, and fairly consider the death penalty. Our conclusion is not altered by R.G.'s self-rating as a 10 on the 1 to 10 scale described above, indicating he strongly favored the death penalty. None of his responses to any of the other questions on the questionnaire that solicited his personal views on the death penalty reflected this similar level of support. The trial court properly excused R.G. for cause.