Opinion ID: 757025
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Jury Fear

Text: 215 Abouhalima argues that during both opening statements and summation, the prosecutor sabotaged his right to a fair trial by appealing to the jury's fears and prejudicing them with the threat, based on no evidence, that they were charged with deciding guilt for the single most destructive act of terrorism ever committed here in the United States. We disagree. 216 Because the prosecutor's statement was amply supported by the evidence, we perceive no misconduct or prejudicial error. Specifically, the statement was supported by the letter the conspirators sent to the New York Times claiming responsibility, in which the conspirators identify their action as a similar response to the terrorism that Israel practices. The statement was also supported by the violence-advocating terrorist literature seized from Abouhalima's apartment after the bombing, literature that echoed the sentiments expressed in the letter. Further, given the magnitude of the World Trade Center bombing, the heinous nature of all crimes charged in the indictment, and the overwhelming evidence of the conspirators' joint motive for committing the bombing, the government's brief references to terrorism and the severity of the bombing during opening statements and summation were consistent with the trial evidence and Abouhalima's right to a fair trial.