Opinion ID: 2076678
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 14

Heading: the prosecutor's closing argument during stage two

Text: The defendant argues that the prosecutor made numerous statements during his closing argument which were meant to frighten and prejudice the jury. The State maintains that a review of both the defendant's and prosecution's closing arguments, and the entire record, demonstrates that the defendant's allegations are without merit. The statements that the defendant complains of, the State asserts, were proper comment on the evidence and the natural inferences to be drawn therefrom, or were an invited reply to the overreaching and improper comments made by defense counsel. The defendant raises six different statements which he alleges were improper and caused the prosecutor's closing argument to be flagrantly unconstitutional. Defendant asserts first that the prosecutor improperly voiced his personal opinion that the defendant's record was the worst he had ever seen. The State responds that, since the evidence established that defendant had been convicted no less than 13 times for offenses ranging from assault and battery to bank robbery, had committed, but not been tried for, three bank robberies, two armed robberies, two escapes, and a burglary, the prosecutor's comment regarding the defendant's record was a proper comment on the evidence. Secondly, the defendant asserts that the prosecutor attempted to frighten the jury into voting for the death penalty by arguing that, if the jury did not vote for the death penalty, the defendant would be sent back to prison to be paroled at the whim of the parole board. The State replies that the defendant waived this issue by failing to object, but that even if the defendant had not waived the issue, the statement by the prosecutor was nothing more than a plea to the jury to fearlessly administer the law. The State also contends that the defendant's own witness, W.V. Kauffman, admitted on the witness stand during cross-examination that the policies of the parole board were subject to dramatic change with each change in administration. Thirdly, the defendant argues that the prosecutor implied that it would be cheaper to execute the defendant than to keep him alive in prison. The defendant alleges that the prosecutor's remark that Mr. Carey [defense counsel] told you that the resources of this County should be channeled so that we can keep one Roberto Ramirez in jail and that's the reason not to follow the law implied that it would be cheaper to execute the defendant than to imprison him. The State argues that the defendant waived this issue by failing to object, but that even if the defendant had not waived the issue, the prosecutor clearly made no reference to the costs of imprisonment versus execution. Next the defendant asserts that the prosecutor misstated crucial facts in two instances, first when he stated, If you find that Roberto Ramirez should be returned to the penitentiary, then the escape, the armed robberies, the murder is free, and, second, when the prosecutor stated that Dr. Cavanaugh had testified that narcotic addiction is a physiological factor and [h]as nothing to do with mental processes. The defendant argues that he had a 35-year Federal sentence left to serve and a possible term of imprisonment that he could receive in the instant case instead of the death penalty, so that the prosecutor's statement that he would go free was blatantly incorrect. The State argues that the prosecutor's remark was proper because if the defendant were not to be sentenced to death, the trial judge could impose a sentence which would run concurrently with the defendant's 35-year Federal sentence and the defendant would, therefore, not be in any worse a position than if no sentence were imposed. In regard to the prosecutor's remark regarding Dr. Cavanaugh's testimony, the State responds that the prosecutor's remark was a permissible inference from the doctor's testimony because the doctor had testified, in effect, that the defendant's addiction had not caused any noticeable brain damage. The defendant's penultimate claim of error regarding the prosecution's closing argument is that the prosecutor misstated the law when he told the jury that [t]he law says if he committed these acts, he must be responsible. The State argues that not only did defendant waive this issue by failing to object, but any error that could have been made was harmless, due to the fact that defense counsel himself commented that the defendant was responsible for his own acts. Lastly, the defendant argues that the prosecutor falsely accused defense counsel of calling the State's witnesses perjurers and implied that defense counsel had misstated the evidence. The State responds that the prosecutor's statements were within the bounds of legitimate argument because the prosecutor can comment on the credibility of the witnesses. In any event, the State argues that since an objection to the prosecutor's remark regarding defense counsel was sustained, any possible error was harmless. Since we have already decided that this case is to be remanded for a new sentencing hearing, it is highly unlikely that any of the same remarks that were made by the prosecutor during the original sentencing hearing will be repeated in the new sentencing hearing.