Opinion ID: 1804987
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Issue 3: Trial Counsel's Comments to the Jury During Closing Argument of the Penalty Phase

Text: Windom argues that trial counsel Ed Leinster conceded the State's case at the penalty phase of trial by pointing out that he was unsuccessful at the guilt phase, that Windom does not deserve pity for what he did, and that Windom's actions were cold. The post-conviction court found that Windom was not prejudiced by Leinster's remarks. Mr. Windom had already been convicted of first-degree premeditated murder, and counsel was attempting to restore credibility with the jury in order to make an argument for saving his client's life. There was no harm in conceding the validity of the jury's verdict during the penalty phase, and it was reasonable trial strategy for Mr. Leinster to be realistic about the facts of the case in order to restore a measure of credibility to the defense as it moved into the penalty phase. ... [T]he apparent concession that Mr. Windom deserved the death penalty was not a concession at all. Mr. Leinster's comments conceding that Mr. Windom deserved the death penalty and conceding the existence of the CCP aggravator are taken entirely out of context. Mr. Windom had already been convicted of first-degree premeditated murder, and Mr. Leinster was faced with a daunting task. As he stated matter-of-factly, My job is to try to save a man's life, end of story. It would have strained his credibility, thereby contributing to the difficulty of his task, to argue the verdict was unjust to the same jury which would be imposing a sentence. It was a reasonable trial strategy for Mr. Leinster to be realistic about the facts of the case in order to restore a measure of credibility to the defense. The record also demonstrates that he argued vigorously against the death penalty in general and argued that executing Mr. Windom would just be another act of murder. Post-conviction order at 33. The post-conviction court's conclusions with regard to Leinster's comments at the penalty phase are supported by the record. At the evidentiary hearing, Leinster and Barch made clear that their strategy was to convey that Windom was not acting like himself that day and that he did not deserve the death penalty. Leinster stated that he did not want to lose credibility with the jury by speaking in terms of innocence since the jury had just found Windom guilty. We find no legal error in the post-conviction court's decision and therefore affirm the court's denial of this claim.