Opinion ID: 609824
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Shifting of responsibility

Text: The prosecutor also argued: 132 Now, you say you ask me to kill Ronnie Chandler. No, I don't ask you to do that. If you recommend the death sentence, Ronnie Chandler is killing himself by his actions. But if you do recommend the death penalty, the death penalty will be imposed by a judicial process where there was due process in an open proceeding where a jury had an opportunity to hear all of the evidence and decide what should be done with Ronnie Chandler. 133 RXV-74. The prosecutor also stated that recommending the death penalty is a form of self defense for society. 134 Chandler contends that these arguments are improper because they undermined the jury's sense of responsibility in recommending a death sentence, relying on Caldwell v. Mississippi, 472 U.S. 320, 328-29, 105 S.Ct. 2633, 2637, 2639, 86 L.Ed.2d 231 (1985) and Buttrum v. Black, 721 F.Supp. 1268, 1316-17 (N.D.Ga.1989). We disagree. The argument made here is not similar to those made in Caldwell and Buttrum. In this case, the prosecution emphasized that the jury was responsible for evaluating the evidence and determining whether Chandler's actions merited a death sentence. The argument does not in any manner attempt to dilute the jury's sense of responsibility. It urges the opposite. We also note that a prosecutor may argue that the death penalty serves as a deterrent. Davis v. Kemp, 829 F.2d 1522, 1528 (11th Cir.1987), cert. denied, 485 U.S. 929, 108 S.Ct. 1099, 99 L.Ed.2d 262 (1988); Drake v. Kemp, 762 F.2d 1449, 1459-60 (11th Cir.1985) (en banc), cert. denied, 478 U.S. 1020, 106 S.Ct. 3333, 92 L.Ed.2d 738 (1986). We conclude that the prosecutor's statements were proper. 135