Opinion ID: 3134725
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Aggravation-Mitigation

Text: Having determined that defendant was properly found eligible for the death penalty under section 9–1(b)(6), we now turn to his arguments that the jury’s verdict at the second stage of sentencing cannot stand. Defendant asserts that an examination of the evidence presented at the aggravation-mitigation stage, as well as sentences received by his codefendant and defendants in other cases, demonstrates that the death penalty is an excessive sentence in his case. Thus, he contends, this court must vacate his death sentence and remand his cause for imposition of a sentence other than death. Alternatively, defendant argues that he must receive a new sentencing hearing because the following errors, individually and cumulatively, denied him a fair hearing: (1) the circuit court excluded evidence of Jackson’s sentence; (2) the circuit court prevented the jury from considering residual doubt; (3) the circuit court refused certain jury instructions proposed by the defense; (4) the circuit court permitted the State to make a rebuttal argument; and (5) the prosecution made improper comments in its closing argument.

Defendant argues that his death sentence must be vacated because the evidence presented at the second stage of sentencing demonstrates that death is an excessive sentence in his case. With respect to the State’s evidence in aggravation, defendant asserts that the evidence indicates that, rather than a premeditated attack, the crimes were unplanned and the result of an isolated, explosive incident. In addition, defendant contends that his criminal record is 20 years old and that the acts that formed the basis for this record were not the acts of a calculating criminal. Defendant claims that, while the aggravating evidence was limited, weak, and remote, the evidence in mitigation was extensive, strong, and fresh. He argues that, despite his troubled childhood, his record in prison is “exemplary,” and he has developed positive and enduring relationships through correspondence and his interaction with prison staff members. In light of this mitigating evidence, defendant contends that his death sentence should be reversed and his cause remanded for the imposition of a sentence other than death. Alternatively, defendant claims that the jury’s decision at the second stage of sentencing is contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence and that he must, therefore, receive a new sentencing hearing. In determining whether a sentence of death is appropriate, we must consider the character and record of the defendant. People v. Ward , 154 Ill. 2d 272, 340 (1992). “[E]ach capital case is unique and must be evaluated on its own facts, focusing on whether the circumstances of the crime and the character of the defendant are such that the deterrent and retributive functions of the ultimate sanction will be served by imposing the death penalty.” People v. Johnson , 128 Ill. 2d 253, 280 (1989). The propriety of a death sentence in a particular case depends on a balance between aggravating and mitigating factors, and the existence of one or more mitigating factors does not require a sentence other than death. People v. Johnson , 149 Ill. 2d 118, 150 (1992). Our review of defendant’s death sentence requires us to make a separate evaluation of the record. Ward , 154 Ill. 2d at 340-41. However, “the decision of a capital sentencing jury will not be overturned lightly, particularly where that decision is amply supported by the record.” People v. Hooper , 172 Ill. 2d 64, 77 (1996); see also People v. Jones , 156 Ill. 2d 225, 256 (1993). In this case, we find that the record amply supports the jury’s conclusion that the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors. The evidence in aggravation included the brutal and senseless nature of defendant’s murder of Byrd and attempted murder of Ray. There was no indication that either Byrd or Ray resisted defendant and his brother’s robbery of Ray’s lounge and apartment. In fact, defendant had tied them with electrical cord and made them lie face down on the floor of the apartment while Jackson pointed a gun at them. While they were in this helpless position, defendant stabbed Ray twice in the chest, and, after ignoring Ray’s pleas to not harm Byrd, also stabbed her. Apparently believing that these steps to subdue Ray and Byrd were insufficient, defendant lit a fire in Ray’s bedroom and left Ray and Byrd to die in the burning room after securing the doorknob to prevent them from escaping the fire. Defendant suggests that these events were spontaneous, but the evidence that defendant waited until Ray closed the bar to visit, that defendant had a history of committing armed robberies of businesses at closing time, and that defendant brought a gun with him when he visited Ray indicates advance planning. In addition, there was evidence that defendant’s crimes against Ray and Byrd were the culmination of a criminal record that began when defendant was a juvenile. This record showed that, shortly after he was released from a juvenile correctional facility or prison, defendant would engage in criminal activity. Indeed, Byrd’s murder occurred less than one month after defendant was released from prison for another offense. His crimes progressed from minor offenses as a juvenile to violent offenses as a young adult. Defendant attempts to minimize the seriousness of these offenses, but we observe that his criminal record includes several armed robberies, and Byrd’s murder illustrates the potential for violence associated with this type of crime. In mitigation, defendant relies in part on his troubled childhood, low-IQ, and learning disability. In other cases, however, we have held that a jury may find that evidence of a defendant’s troubled childhood or developmental problems is not inherently mitigating and may be considered aggravating because it suggests future dangerousness. See Madej , 177 Ill. 2d at 140; People v. Sanchez , 169 Ill. 2d 472, 491-92 (1996). The majority of defendant’s mitigating evidence concerns his good behavior since his incarceration in 1980. We have previously found in other cases, however, that a defendant’s good behavior in prison was insufficient to offset the aggravating evidence against the defendant. See Madej , 177 Ill. 2d at 140; People v. Garcia , 165 Ill. 2d 409, 437 (1995). While defendant’s conduct in prison is commendable, we do not find that it outweighs the aggravating evidence in this case. There was evidence that, when defendant was incarcerated prior to the armed robberies he committed in the seventies and his crimes against Ray and Byrd, defendant’s adjustment to imprisonment was positive and his behavior in correctional facilities was good. We cannot conclude, therefore, that defendant’s most recent good behavior necessarily indicates a transformation in his character. See People v. Turner , 156 Ill. 2d 354, 361 (1993), quoting Skipper v. South Carolina , 476 U.S. 1, 14-15, 90 L. Ed. 2d 1, 13, 106 S. Ct. 1669, 1676 (1986) (Powell, J., concurring, joined by Burger, C.J., and Rehnquist, J.) (“ ‘[O]ne arrested for a capital crime, and particularly a convicted defendant awaiting sentencing, has every incentive to behave flawlessly in prison if good behavior might cause the sentencing authority to spare his life. Good behavior in those circumstances would rarely be predictive as to the conduct of the prisoner after sentence has been imposed’ ” (emphasis in original)). In addition, there were significant conflicts in the evidence regarding defendant’s character. For example, Miller testified that defendant had a learning disability, was borderline mentally retarded, and never functioned above a fourth-grade level. By contrast, defendant’s wife testified that she and defendant had communications involving her interests in philosophy and mathematics, and other individuals with whom defendant corresponded described him as articulate, well-read, and above-average intelligence. Furthermore, the evidence that, after his incarceration, defendant was kind, considerate, polite, and responsible appears inconsistent with the evidence of his violent and extensive criminal record. Given these discrepancies, the jury at sentencing could have reasonably concluded that defendant’s behavior in prison was not an accurate indication of his character. In light of the aggravating evidence and our review of the record, we cannot conclude that the death penalty was an excessive sentence in this case. Having determined that there is ample support in the record for the jury’s verdict at the aggravation-mitigation stage of sentencing, we decline to consider defendant’s alternative argument that he must receive a new sentencing hearing because the jury’s decision to impose the death penalty was against the manifest weight of the evidence. Defendant has failed to cite any authority for the application of this standard to our review of the jury’s verdict at the second stage of sentencing. See 177 Ill. 2d R. 341(e)(7); Madej , 177 Ill. 2d at 162; see also Shaw , 186 Ill. 2d at 342-44.
In addition to arguing that his death sentence is excessive based on the evidence presented at the aggravation-mitigation stage of sentencing, defendant contends that a comparison of his sentence to sentences received by Richard Jackson and defendants in other cases demonstrates that the death penalty is inappropriate in defendant’s case. Defendant claims that his death sentence is “grossly disproportionate” to Jackson’s 60-year term of imprisonment. Defendant argues that Jackson’s role in the offenses against Ray and Byrd was equal to, if not more culpable, that defendant’s. Defendant asserts that Jackson “came up with the idea” of using the scissors to stab Ray and Byrd, held them at gun point, and helped throw them into the burning bedroom. In addition, defendant bases his disproportionality argument on Jackson’s criminal record, which includes violent crimes, and Jackson’s poor disciplinary record in prison. In light of this evidence of Jackson’s conduct and his own, good conduct in prison, defendant argues that his death sentence must be vacated and his cause remanded for a sentence other than death to be imposed. While a disparity in the sentences of codefendants does not, in itself, show a violation of fundamental fairness, “[a]rbitrary and unreasonable disparity between the sentences of similarly situated codefendants is impermissible.” People v. Caballero , 179 Ill. 2d 205, 216 (1997). In reviewing the sentences of codefendants, this court considers the following factors: “the nature of the offense, each defendant’s relative involvement or culpability, his character and background, including any criminal record, and his potential for rehabilitation.” Kliner , 185 Ill. 2d at 175-76. Under these factors, we find that defendant’s death sentence is not unreasonably disparate. Defendant’s and Jackson’s criminal backgrounds are comparable. Evidence in the record shows that, prior to his incarceration for the offenses against Ray and Byrd, Jackson was convicted of robbery and unlawful use of a weapon. While in prison in 1981, Jackson stabbed a prison guard and was convicted of aggravated battery and armed violence. Defendant has convictions for grand theft, robbery, and receiving and possessing money stolen from a federal bank. Also, like his brother, defendant has a criminal history involving violent offenses, such as armed robbery and unlawful use of a weapon to commit felonies. Defendant correctly observes that his behavior in prison is better, by far, than his brother’s. Whereas defendant has had essentially no disciplinary problems, Jackson’s prison record from 1980 to 1984 shows that he had repeated disciplinary violations involving violence, including possession of a weapon, attacking prison staff members, and fighting. While their behavior in prison suggests that defendant’s potential for rehabilitation may be greater than that of his brother, this is only one factor we consider in determining whether a defendant’s capital sentence is disproportionate to his codefendant’s sentence. We must also consider the relative culpability of defendant and Jackson in the crimes against Ray and Byrd. We disagree with defendant’s assertion that Jackson’s role in these crimes was equal to or greater than his own. While we do not minimize Jackson’s responsibility for these offenses, we believe that defendant was clearly the more culpable participant in these crimes. Defendant arranged to meet with Ray, defendant initiated the armed robbery by pointing a gun at Ray and Byrd, defendant tied Ray and Byrd with electrical cord, defendant removed items from the apartment, defendant stabbed Ray and Byrd, and defendant set the fire in the bedroom. Jackson assisted defendant in committing the crimes by holding Ray and Byrd at gunpoint, suggesting a weapon for the stabbings, and helping to carry Ray and Byrd into the bedroom, but defendant performed the primary role in the crimes. Based on defendant’s greater involvement and culpability in the crimes, we find his greater sentence was justified. Defendant also argues that a comparison of his sentence to sentences received by defendants in other cases demonstrates that his sentence is excessive. Defendant claims that the circumstances surrounding his offense are much less egregious than those in other cases in which this court has upheld the imposition of the death penalty for murder during the course of an armed robbery. See People v. Munson , 171 Ill. 2d 158 (1996); People v. Ashford , 168 Ill. 2d 494 (1995). In support of his argument that the death penalty is excessive in his case, defendant also relies on other decisions in which this court has vacated the defendants’ death sentences. See People v. Smith , 177 Ill. 2d 53 (1997); People v. Buggs , 112 Ill. 2d 284 (1986); People v. Carlson , 79 Ill. 2d 564 (1980). Although comparative proportionality review is not required by the federal constitution or the Illinois death penalty statute, this court has nevertheless exercised its discretion to address comparative sentencing arguments by defendants in other capital cases. See, e.g. , People v. Palmer , 162 Ill. 2d 465, 491 (1994). In this case, we also choose to consider defendant’s comparison of his sentence to sentences received by defendants in other capital cases. A comparison of the facts of defendant’s case to those in People v. Munson , 171 Ill. 2d 158 (1996), and People v. Ashford , 168 Ill. 2d 494 (1995), however, does not demonstrate that the death penalty was an excessive sentence in defendant’s case. In those cases, as in defendant’s, the death penalty was imposed for murders that occurred in the course of an armed robbery. In Munson , the defendant robbed the victim at gunpoint, kidnapped him, fatally shot the victim because he was afraid the victim would identify him, and then set the victim’s car on fire. Munson , 171 Ill. 2d at 167-73. In Ashford , the defendant fatally shot four individuals during an armed robbery because he did not want to leave any witnesses. Ashford , 168 Ill. 2d at 497-99. According to defendant, unlike Munson and Ashford , his case did not involve a planned, premeditated attack. Thus, defendant asserts, the death penalty is excessive in his case. We cannot agree. There was evidence in the case at bar that defendant did indeed plan the armed robbery of the lounge. If the murders in Munson and Ashford were more horrific than those in defendant’s case, such fact does not demonstrate that the facts of defendant’s case are not, in themselves, sufficiently aggravating to warrant the imposition of the death penalty. As stated, defendant killed Byrd in a ruthless and brutal fashion. We find that defendant’s comparison of his case to Ashford and Munson does not indicate that the death penalty was inappropriate in his case. Defendant’s comparison of his case to Smith , Buggs , and Carlson , also does not demonstrate that his death sentence is excessive. Our decisions to vacate the defendants’ death sentences in those cases were based on mitigating factors that are not present in defendant’s case. See, e.g. , Smith , 177 Ill. 2d at 100-01 (the defendant had no criminal record, the murder was motivated by the defendant’s husband’s affair, and the murder was an isolated incident); Buggs , 112 Ill. 2d at 294-95 (the defendant had no history of criminal activity, the murder was a product of marital disharmony, and the murder was an isolated incident); Carlson , 79 Ill. 2d at 588-90 (the defendant had no criminal record and the murders occurred while the defendant was under an extreme emotional disturbance). Accordingly, these cases fail to show that the death penalty is excessive in defendant’s case. See People v. Thomas , 178 Ill. 2d 215, 249-50 (1997).
We now turn to defendant’s arguments that errors at the second stage of sentencing require that he receive a new sentencing hearing. Defendant asserts that it was error for the circuit court to exclude evidence of Richard Jackson’s sentence at the aggravation-mitigation stage. According to defendant, the fact that Jackson had received a 60-year prison term was relevant mitigating evidence. Without this evidence, defendant argues, the jury was “left to speculate that Jackson already had received the death penalty.” It is well established by the precedent of this court that a defendant does not have a right to present evidence of a codefendant’s sentence at the aggravation-mitigation stage of sentencing. See, e.g. , People v. Jackson , 182 Ill. 2d 30, 54 (1998). As we explained in People v. Page , 156 Ill. 2d 258, 271-72 (1993), evidence of a codefendant’s sentence is not a relevant mitigating factor at the aggravation-mitigation stage, where the focus is on the defendant’s character and participation in the offense. “[R]equiring the sentencer to examine and compare the relative culpability of the defendants and the circumstances in aggravation and mitigation applicable to each would unnecessarily complicate an already difficult task.” Page , 156 Ill. 2d at 272. Thus, while a reviewing court may consider whether a defendant’s sentence is disparate when compared to a codefendant’s sentence, a defendant does not have a right to present the sentencing jury with evidence of a codefendant’s sentence. Jackson , 182 Ill. 2d at 92. Based on this authority, we hold that the circuit court did not err in excluding evidence of Jackson’s sentence.
Defendant further contends that it was error for the circuit court to prevent the jury from considering, at the aggravation-mitigation stage, residual doubt with respect to defendant’s guilt. Prior to the sentencing hearing, the State made a motion in limine to preclude the defense from arguing residual doubt. The circuit court granted this motion. During its closing argument at the second stage of the sentencing hearing, defense counsel argued: “Are you going to condemn a man on the strength of Robert Ray’s testimony?” The circuit court sustained the State’s objection to this statement. During a subsequent discussion with the attorneys outside the presence of the jury, the circuit court interpreted defense counsel’s remarks about the strength of Ray’s testimony as a residual doubt argument. The court instructed defense counsel that he could argue the facts of the murder but not discuss residual doubt. Defendant argues that this ruling by the circuit court requires that he receive a new sentencing hearing. First, he asserts that the argument the circuit court prohibited was not “purely” a residual doubt argument. Instead, “disputing the strength of Ray’s testimony concerning the circumstances of the crime was a proper response to the State’s argument [discussing the circumstances of the crime] and a proper argument concerning the presence or absence of aggravating or mitigating factors in the evidence concerning the circumstances of the offense.” Second, defendant contends that the circuit court should have permitted him to argue residual doubt. Although he acknowledges decisions by this court that a defendant does not have a constitutional right to argue residual doubt at aggravation-mitigation, he claims that these decisions should not apply to this case because different juries determined guilt and sentencing. Defendant contends that, where the same jury determines guilt and sentencing, there is a “built-in safeguard” because, as a practical matter, the jury cannot be prevented from considering residual doubt at sentencing. According to defendant, this “safeguard” has “undoubtedly made the difference in many cases where defendants have not been sentenced to death.” Both this court and the United States Supreme Court have held that a defendant has no right to present evidence of residual doubt at the second stage of sentencing. See, e.g ., Franklin v. Lynaugh , 487 U.S. 164, 172-75, 101 L. Ed. 2d 155, 165-66, 108 S. Ct. 2320, 2327-28 (1988); Terrell , 185 Ill. 2d at 500-01; Hooper , 172 Ill. 2d at 79; People v. McDonald , 168 Ill. 2d 420, 454-55 (1995). As we stated in Hooper , “Residual doubt is not relevant to the circumstances of the offense or to the defendant’s character and, as a result, is not relevant to the imposition of the death penalty.” Hooper , 172 Ill. 2d at 79. This court has also rejected the argument that when there is a different jury at sentencing than at the guilt phase, a defendant should be permitted to argue residual doubt. Terrell , 185 Ill. 2d at 501. Defendant has failed to persuade us that we should reconsider these holdings. Thus, we find no error in the circuit court’s ruling prohibiting defense counsel from disputing the strength of Ray’s testimony at the second stage of defendant’s sentencing hearing. We agree with the circuit court’s interpretation of defense counsel’s remarks about Ray’s credibility as a residual doubt argument. The circuit court properly restricted defense counsel’s references to residual doubt while permitting argument regarding the circumstances of defendant’s crimes.
Defendant also asserts that a new sentencing hearing is required based on the circuit court’s refusal to give the jury five instructions he proposed at the aggravation-mitigation stage. Defendant’s Instruction No. 2 asked the jury to consider certain non-statutory mitigating factors. Defendant’s failure to include this instruction in the record, however, prevents us from reviewing the circuit court’s decision to refuse it. People v. Dall , 207 Ill. App. 3d 508, 527 (1991) (defendant waived review of the propriety of his proposed instruction by failing to include it in the record). Neither the common law record nor the report of proceedings reveals the substance of this instruction. Although defendant describes the contents of the instruction in his brief, we cannot rely on this description. We are, therefore, unable to review the merits of his argument and find the issue defaulted. The circuit court also refused to give the jury the following nonpattern instructions that defendant proposed: “You may consider any aspect of the defendant’s character or record, and any of the circumstances of the offense as mitigating factors.” “You may consider mercy as a relevant mitigating factor within the context of all factors in aggravation and mitigation.” “You are instructed under the Constitution of the State of Illinois all penalties shall be determined both according to the seriousness of the offense and with the objective of restoring the defendant to useful citizenship.” In rejecting these instructions, the circuit court found that their subject matter was covered by the language of Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions, Criminal, No. 7C.06 (3d ed. 1992) (hereinafter IPI Criminal 3d), which the court had decided to give the jury. This pattern instruction informed the jury that mitigating factors it should consider included, “[t]he defendant may be rehabilitated or restored to useful citizenship” and “[a]ny other reason supported by the evidence why the defendant should not be sentenced to death.” The circuit court also refused defendant’s request to give the jury the following instruction on the unanimity requirement: “The jury may consider [a] mitigating factor even though all or some of the other jurors do not believe that a mitigating factor exist[s].” Instead, the circuit court instructed the jury in accordance with IPI Criminal 3d No. 7C.05, which provides: “Under the law, the defendant shall be sentenced to death if you unanimously find that there are no mitigating factors sufficient to preclude imposition of a death sentence. If you are unable to find unanimously that there are no mitigating factors sufficient to preclude imposition of a death sentence, the court will impose a sentence other than death.” It is within the discretion of the circuit court to decide whether to give the jury a nonpattern instruction. Gilliam , 172 Ill. 2d at 519. The circuit court does not abuse its discretion in refusing a nonpattern instruction if there is an applicable pattern instruction or if other instructions given to the jury cover the same material as the proposed nonpattern instruction. Gilliam , 172 Ill. 2d at 519. In this case, the subject matter of defendant’s proposed instructions was covered by two pattern instructions, which the circuit court provided the jury. Furthermore, this court has held that, when the circuit court instructs a jury pursuant to IPI Criminal 3d No. 7C.05 and IPI Criminal 3d No. 7C.06, no separate instructions on mercy and unanimity, such as the ones proposed by defendant, are required at the second stage of sentencing. See Buss , 187 Ill. 2d at 235 (the circuit court did not err in refusing the defendant’s mercy instruction when the jury received IPI Criminal 3d No. 7C.06); Macri , 185 Ill. 2d at 70-71 (the circuit court did not err in refusing the defendant’s unanimity instruction when the jury received IPI Criminal 3d No. 7C.05). Accordingly, the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in rejecting defendant’s proposed instructions.

In addition, defendant claims that a new sentencing hearing is required because the circuit court permitted the State to make a rebuttal argument during the aggravation-mitigation stage. According to defendant, the party who has the burden of persuasion is normally entitled to a rebuttal argument. Defendant contends, however, that there is no justification for permitting the State to make a rebuttal argument at the aggravation-mitigation stage, because both the State and the defendant bear the burden of proof at sentencing. This court has repeatedly held that, because the State is the moving party at sentencing, the circuit court has the discretion to permit the State to present a rebuttal argument at the second stage of sentencing. See, e.g. , People v. Williams , 173 Ill. 2d 48, 93, (1996); People v. Fair , 159 Ill. 2d 51, 95 (1994); People v. Williams , 97 Ill. 2d 252, 302-03 (1983). Defendant has failed to provide us with any persuasive reason for reconsidering those holdings and we decline to do so in this case. We hold that the circuit court properly permitted the State to make a rebuttal argument at the aggravation-mitigation stage of defendant’s sentencing hearing.
Defendant further argues that improper comments by the prosecution during closing argument at the second stage of sentencing require that his sentence be vacated and his case remanded for a new sentencing hearing. Defendant objected at trial to only two of these comments: the State’s remark that “[t]he defendant has forfeited his right to go to jail for society to pay for his existence” and its statement that defendant held a job that paid $25 an hour. As the State argues, defendant has waived review of the alleged errors relating to the remaining comments, to which he failed to object. See People v. Enoch , 122 Ill. 2d 176, 186 (1988). With respect to the comments to which he failed to object, defendant asserts that this court may nevertheless consider his arguments based on the plain error doctrine. Because the evidence presented at the aggravation-mitigation stage of defendant’s sentencing hearing was closely balanced, we agree with defendant that we may review the merits of his arguments concerning the State’s closing argument. See People v. Speight , 153 Ill. 2d 365, 379 (1992); People v. Carlson , 79 Ill. 2d 564, 577 (1980); People v. Green , 74 Ill. 2d 444, 454-56 (1979) (Ryan, J., concurring). After considering these arguments, we find no reversible error and, thus, also no plain error. See People v. Keene , 169 Ill. 2d 1, 17 (1995) (all plain errors are reversible errors). Among the portions of the State’s argument on which defendant bases his claim of reversible error is the State’s comment that the jury should “[s]entence the defendant to death so that he can wake up every morning and know that he is in jail for the consequences of the acts which he committed to Delinda Byrd. Let him be reminded every morning about what he did on August 13, 1979.” According to defendant, the “clear implication” from this statement was that defendant would not be executed if the jury imposed the death penalty and this improperly minimized the jury’s sense of responsibility in violation of Caldwell v. Mississippi , 472 U.S. 320, 86 L. Ed. 2d 231, 105 S. Ct. 2633 (1985). We find that this “implication” is anything but clear. At no time did the State suggest that, if the jury imposed a death sentence, that this sentence would not be executed. At most, the State’s argument that defendant would have time to think about the jury’s sentence suggests that defendant would not be put to death immediately following a verdict imposing the death penalty. We find no error based on this argument. In addition, defendant contends that the State’s argument concerning the cost of his incarceration was improper. He bases this claim of error on the State’s remark that “The defendant has forfeited his right to go to jail for society to pay for his existence.” In addition, defendant asserts that it was error for the State to comment on privileges he enjoyed in prison. The State described his life in prison as “privileged,” referred to his paying job, TV, and radio and claimed that defendant was “so eager to avoid being shackled he will hold a $25 an hour [ sic ] job to avoid being locked down and supervised.” We disagree that this argument requires that we vacate defendant’s sentence. First, we find that any error stemming from the State’s comment about society paying for defendant was cured by defense counsel’s prompt objection, the circuit court’s sustaining this objection, and its instruction to the jury to disregard argument not based on the evidence. See Kliner , 185 Ill. 2d at 159-60. With respect to the State’s remarks about defendant’s privileges, we do not interpret this argument as a comment on the cost of defendant’s incarceration. Finally, while the State’s argument that defendant was paid $25 an hour was incorrect (Skidmore testified that defendant was paid $25 a month), we do not believe that it resulted in substantial prejudice to defendant. After defendant objected to this misstatement, the circuit court stated to the jury, “Ladies and gentlemen, you have heard the evidence.” In addition, the jury was instructed that the arguments of the attorneys were not evidence and that argument not based on the evidence should be disregarded. Further, defendant argues that he was denied a fair sentencing hearing by the State’s argument about Byrd’s hopes and dreams because it distracted the jurors from the task of balancing aggravating and mitigating factors and was unsupported by evidence in the record. The prosecution argued: “Her name was Delinda Byrd. Delinda Byrd, a victim in this case. She had a life. She had hopes. She had dreams. They were taken away from her by Dennis Emerson. They were taken away from her only because he cared about nothing. Nothing, but himself. The last moments of her life were spent struggling for breath while 90 percent of her skin was being burned. Imagine her terror. Imagine her fear.   This is the defendant that did that to her, that turned her into a corpse, who took away all her hopes and dreams and took away all of what she could contribute to society and to the community, and all of what she could contribute to everyone that knew her and enriched their lives.” In People v. Howard , 147 Ill. 2d 103, 155 (1991), this court held that, at the second stage of a capital sentencing hearing, the State may introduce evidence relating to the personal characteristics of the defendant’s victim and the impact of the defendant’s crime on the victim and the victim’s survivors. See also Payne v. Tennessee , 501 U.S. 808, 825-27, 115 L. Ed. 2d 720, 735-37, 111 S. Ct. 2597, 2608-09 (1991). This court stated that such evidence is relevant to the jury’s consideration of the proper punishment for the defendant because it helps the jury to assess his moral culpability. Howard , 147 Ill. 2d at 158; see also Pasch , 152 Ill. 2d at 200. However, “arguments which are calculated to play upon the jurors’ emotions are clearly improper.” People v. Williams , 161 Ill. 2d 1, 78 (1994). We find that the State’s argument concerning Byrd was an improper appeal to the juror’s emotions. Nevertheless, we do not believe that it was so inflammatory that it denied defendant a fair sentencing hearing. In other cases involving challenges to the prosecution’s argument at the second stage of sentencing, this court has considered the effect of similar comments about the victim’s survivors and what the victims would be doing if they were alive. Terrell , 185 Ill. 2d at 512, 513 (the prosecution asked the jury to “ ‘[p]icture what it was like’ ” for the victim in her last moments of life and stated that, for the victim’s mother, what should have been a “ ‘fond memory, shining lights of her life, her fifteen-month old daughter, instead, is a tragic memory’ ”); People v. Kidd , 175 Ill. 2d 1, 41 (1996) (the prosecution asked the jury to remember the nine-year-old victim who would “ ‘never light up his grandfather’s home with his infectious smile’ ”); People v. Kokoraleis , 132 Ill. 2d 235, 285 (1989) (the prosecution argued about the victims’ rights to get married, have a family, have children, and spend time with their families). In those cases, we concluded that these comments were, in and of themselves, not so prejudicial as to deprive the defendant of a fair sentencing hearing. Terrell , 185 Ill. 2d at 513; Kidd , 175 Ill. 2d at 42; Kokoraleis , 132 Ill. 2d at 285. Likewise, in this case, we find that the prosecution’s argument about Byrd does not require reversal of defendant’s sentence. Defendant also asserts reversible error resulting from the prosecution’s argument that his exercise of his constitutional rights to appeal his convictions and sentence was an aggravating factor. Defendant bases this contention on the following portions of the State’s argument: “He is doing everything he can to prepare for this day when he is in jail. Everything he does is for himself. There is an ulterior motive in everything that he does, because he knew this day was coming.