Opinion ID: 1516216
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Prosecutorial Misconduct During the Penalty Phase[32]

Text: Appellant accuses the prosecutor of engaging in misconduct during numerous junctures during his penalty phase arguments. Then, appellant attaches these claims to a skeletal layered ineffectiveness claim. We will address each of these claims in turn, after a brief review of the focus of our analysis in like claims. When arguing to the jury during the sentencing phase of a defendant's trial, a prosecutor must be afforded reasonable latitude and may invoke oratorical flair. Williams, 863 A.2d at 522; Commonwealth v. Stokes, 576 Pa. 299, 839 A.2d 226, 231-32 (2003). During the sentencing phase, the prosecutor has more latitude to make arguments because the presumption of innocence is no longer applicable. Commonwealth v. Rompilla, 554 Pa. 378, 721 A.2d 786, 790 (1998).
Appellant first argues the impropriety of the following statement of the prosecutor: 12 years ago I took an oath to uphold the law and have done that consistently for 12 years. About a week and a half ago you were asked to do the same thing, to uphold the law and every one of you is posed the question, can you and would you in the appropriate circumstance impose the death penalty. And I submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, this is the appropriate circumstance. N.T. 7/17/1995 at 76. Appellant contends that the jury was more predisposed to believe the prosecutor's words when he referenced the oath he took. Appellant asserts that the prosecutor vouched personally and professionally for the appropriateness of the death sentence. Appellant poses that the prosecutor's reference to his experience served to remove from jurors responsibility for his sentence. Finally, appellant maintains that the prosecutor's reference to the jurors' oath implied that the jury was compelled to return the death sentence. The Commonwealth dismisses appellant's contentions, citing this Court's precedent finding no error in asking the jury to abide by its promise to follow the law. As to the prosecutor's reference to his own oath, the Commonwealth argues the reference was simply placed beside the prosecutor's recollection of the jury's oath. Even if the prosecutor's remark could be construed as vouching for himself, the Commonwealth maintains that appellant cannot show prejudice in light of the four aggravating circumstances the jury found and his failure to establish a single mitigating factor. The PCRA court ruled that each objection appellant raises respecting the prosecutor's closing argument was fair comment on the record and did not constitute error. In Commonwealth v. Rollins, 558 Pa. 532, 738 A.2d 435, 450 (1999), this Court found no error where the prosecutor asked the jury to live up to the promise it made under oath to follow the law. Here, the prosecutor's request of the jury was nearly the same. Although the prosecutor placed that request after recalling the oath he took himself, the prosecutor's reference to both oaths was nothing more than a simple comparison. No doubt, trial counsel could have leveled an objection to the extent the prosecutor personalized his argument. But counsel is not obliged to lodge any and every objection, particularly given that the jury was reminded that the attorneys' arguments were not evidence, but argument. It cannot be said that the reference in this context was so ineluctably prejudicial that the Sixth Amendment required an objection.
Appellant next argues that the prosecutor committed misconduct by suggesting that the jury should invoke the death penalty in this case to protect society. The Commonwealth retorts that the passage appellant quotes is taken out of context. The Commonwealth argues that the prosecutor's remarks were related to the proffered fourth aggravating circumstance that the murder was committed in connection with a drug felony. We agree. Just before the passage appellant quotes, the prosecutor argued: The fourth aggravating circumstance in this, ladies and gentlemen, probably makes it the most heinous because it is indicative of everything and it characterizes this entire case, that this whole thing took place because this guy wanted a place to deal his drugs. N.T. 7/17/1995 at 83. Appellant, however, only singled out the underlined section of the prosecutor's subsequent argument: And I want you to listen to the definition of that aggravating circumstance because the whole case is shrouded, shrouded in that decay, that cancer that is decaying this city and that part of that state and what's pervaded every aspect of this case and gave complete motive to this man to blow away William Lloyd. And that's what the legislature said that is so heinous that when a man does that in and of itself is just cause to pursue the ultimate penalty of death. Id. at 83-84. When evaluating the prosecutor's statement in the context of his argument on the fourth aggravator, it is evident that the prosecutor merely emphasized that William Lloyd was senselessly killed over a drug dispute, a common enough circumstance that the General Assembly specifically created an aggravator for it in capital cases. Moreover, the prosecutor's reference to the drug crime that is decaying Philadelphia was an isolated reference to the purpose of the aggravator, not a pervasive image repeated throughout the prosecutor's argument.
Appellant accuses the prosecutor of intentionally inflaming the passions of the jury by reminding it of the constitutional rights and experiences appellant will continue to experience, but that William Lloyd cannot. Specifically, appellant cites the following passage: But when you do think about this case and think about the circumstances under which William Lloyd was shot you may consider the fact that this man does not have 12 people sitting in judgment that night in a nice orderly courtroom, with a record being taken and a fair-minded, impartial Judge and the representation of a very, very competent defense attorney and the fact of the United States and Pennsylvania constitutions. William Lloyd didn't have that when he was gunned down. Remember that. And if Mr. Carson does serve a penalty of life in prison, he is going to be in the prison. He is going to be in general population. He will be confined and his freedom will be restricted, taken away. But he will be in general population and he will get his cable TV and he will have his weights and he will get his chance to exercise and he will eat 3 meals a day and he will be able to shower. And he will be able to do many, many things which is a far cry from the trash heap that William Lloyd fell in when he was shot. All of the rights he has now, Mr. Carson, are the rights that will follow him. Id. at 77-78. According to appellant, this line of argument is inappropriate because it perpetuates a misguided belief that convicted criminals have too many protections. Appellant notes that the prosecutor neglected to mention all of the hardships that he would experience in prison. The Commonwealth, in turn, cites several cases where this Court has upheld a prosecutor's arguments that ask the jury to show the defendant the same mercy showed to the victim. Additionally, the Commonwealth cites a host of other cases in which this Court found no error with arguments that utilized more oratorical flair than the passage appellant cites. We have upheld a prosecutor's explicit request of a jury to show the same mercy to a defendant as the defendant showed to his victim. Commonwealth v. Jacobs, 556 Pa. 138, 727 A.2d 545, 554 (1999) (citing Commonwealth v. Basemore, 525 Pa. 512, 582 A.2d 861, 870 (1990), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 1102, 112 S.Ct. 1191, 117 L.Ed.2d 432 (1992)). The prosecutor reminded the jury that, thanks to procedural safeguards, imposing the death penalty was not the same as killing someone on a street corner and that life in prison is not comparable to death. The ultimate issue for the jury in the penalty phase is life in prison or death, and there is certainly nothing inappropriate in discussing and contrasting the two. Moreover, given that this Court has permitted a more passionate form of argument by allowing a prosecutor to describe a defendant with a number of deprecating adjectives, see Commonwealth v. Kemp, 562 Pa. 154, 753 A.2d 1278, 1287 (2000), abrogated on other grounds by, Commonwealth v. Freeman, 573 Pa. 532, 827 A.2d 385 (2003) (prosecutor did not exceed allowable scope of penalty phase argument where he characterized defendant as callous, demented, inhuman, sick, and sordid), counsel cannot be deemed ineffective for failing to object here.
Next, appellant claims that the Commonwealth improperly diminished his mitigation evidence with the following argument: Well, there were many, many children, there are thousands of children in this city who grew up without parents, let alone single parents, who have managed to crawled [sic] and climb under out of that, that ring of poverty and make something out of themselves. And not to be just people who obey the law but people who prevail and go above the law. There are thousands of them who prevail and any argument to say that Mr. Carson didn't have that opportunity is a slap in the face to any one of those children who managed to succeed, to have managed to climb out of the gutter and make something of themselves instead of putting a bullet through some 53-year-old man's head. N.T. 7/17/1995 at 82. Appellant contends that it is irrelevant whether other people succeeded under similar circumstances. Arguing that the prosecutor violated his Eighth Amendment rights, appellant asserts that the above remarks prevented the jury from giving full effect to his mitigation evidence. We find appellant's claim is without merit, as we agree with the Commonwealth that this Court has expressly permitted a prosecutor to rebut mitigation evidence. See, e.g., Rollins, 738 A.2d at 449 (no error in stating that defendant's mitigation evidence was of too little weight to influence the verdict); Basemore, 582 A.2d at 869 (prosecutor was permitted to dispute that defendant's age and occupation did not constitute mitigating evidence); Commonwealth v. Duffey, 519 Pa. 348, 548 A.2d 1178, 1189 (1988) (no harm in prosecutor's argument that defendant's epilepsy should not constitute mitigation factor). The prosecutor permissibly argued against appellant's catchall mitigator, which appellant supported by offering testimony from his family that appellant provided monetary support for his family and friends.
In his penultimate claim involving penalty phase argument, appellant claims that the prosecutor referred to facts not in evidence by referring to therapy and rehabilitation that appellant had undergone. Appellant also objects to the prosecutor's theory that, during the nine years between his murder conviction and other most recent conviction, appellant was biding his time and building a wave of arrogance. Appellant's Brief at 73; N.T. 7/17/1995 at 86. Appellant posits that this argument prevented the jury from considering the aggravating and mitigating evidence that was actually presented. The Commonwealth denies that the prosecutor argued facts not in evidence, for appellant's previous adjudications and commitment at a juvenile rehabilitation facility were made part of the record. From these facts, the Commonwealth argues that one could infer that appellant would receive rehabilitation during his commitment. The Commonwealth also gives no weight to appellant's characterization of the prosecutor's argument as suggesting that appellant waited for nine years to kill an innocent bystander. As we have said before, a prosecutor is permitted to argue reasonable inferences from the evidence. Commonwealth v. LaCava, 542 Pa. 160, 666 A.2d 221, 231 (1995). Evidence of appellant's previous crimes as a juvenile was admitted into evidence at his sentencing hearing, including mention of his two separate commitments to Glen Mills following adjudications of delinquency, N.T. 7/17/1995 at 50-51. Based on this evidence, it was reasonable for the prosecutor to refer to appellant's unrealized opportunities for rehabilitation while in detention as a juvenile. Lastly, we consider the prosecutor's comment that appellant was biding his time nothing more than a reference to appellant's failure to improve himself following his juvenile convictions. Counsel was not obliged to object to the prosecutor's argument.
Appellant's final claim relates to the prosecutor's reference that William Lloyd would not have the opportunity to bury his parents. He argues that in conjunction with the testimony from William Lloyd's mother at trial, the prosecutor's argument improperly engendered sympathy for the victim. Appellant asserts that victim impact evidence was neither admissible nor relevant in a capital case at the time of his trial in 1995. The Commonwealth rejects the notion that the prosecutor made this statement to create sympathy and declares that it was made in response to defense witness testimony that appellant would not get to see his children again if he were sentenced to death. Furthermore, the Commonwealth argues that appellant could not be prejudiced by the prosecutor's statement since the jury, which found no mitigating circumstances, did not have to weigh the aggravating factors versus a mitigating factor. The mother of appellant's son, Aisha Johnson, made a passionate plea to spare appellant's life during the sentencing hearing, lamenting that appellant had not had the opportunity to know his son and that she did not want her son growing up not knowing his father. N.T. 7/17/1995 at 57. In response, the prosecutor argued in his closing that while appellant would like to see his children again, William Lloyd would not have the opportunity to survive his parents. Id. at 82-831. Therefore, the prosecutor's argument was permissible rebuttal argument to this aspect of appellant's emotional mitigation defense. See, e.g., Rollins, 738 A.2d at 449.