Opinion ID: 2319241
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Admission of Evidence of the Circumstances Surrounding the Nichols Homicide

Text: Appellant next argues that the trial court erred in allowing the Commonwealth to introduce evidence relating to the circumstances surrounding the Nichols homicide (as compared to evidence of Appellant's guilty plea to that homicide, discussed supra ) at the sentencing hearing, because such evidence had no probative value and was overwhelmingly prejudicial. See Appellant's Brief at 46 (Argument XI). With respect to the Commonwealth's reliance on prior decisions in this case wherein evidence of the Nichols homicide was deemed admissible to prove Appellant's motive and intent in the murder of Officer Miller, [10] Appellant respondsincorrectlythat those decisions involved guilt-phase proceedings, whereas the instant proceeding was a penalty-phase hearing. Appellant contends that, in the instant case, the jury already had determined the degree of guilt, and, therefore, motive and intent were no longer at issue. Appellant further argues the only relevant aggravating circumstance at issue during the sentencing proceeding was whether Officer Miller was a police officer killed in the line of duty, and, because the defense did not contest this fact, there was no probative value in introducing evidence of the Nichols homicide. Finally, Appellant asserts that evidence of the Nichols homicide created in the jury a hostility against Appellant, and that any cautionary instruction limiting the use of the evidence was insufficient to cure the error. This Court addressed the same issue raised by Appellant herein in Commonwealth v. Lesko, supra , which involved the appeal by Appellant's co-defendant, Lesko, of his death penalty verdict. Recognizing the district court had similarly ruled that Lesko's guilty plea in the Nichols case should not be introduced at Lesko's second penalty trial, we considered whether it was error to introduce evidence of the circumstances of the Nichols homicide in order to prove Lesko's intent and motive in killing Officer Miller. We reviewed the following jury charge given by the trial court: You have heard evidence concerning the killing of William Nichols in Indiana County. This evidence may be considered only as evidence tending to show the motive for and the circumstances surrounding the killing of Officer Leonard Miller. This event is not to be considered by you as an aggravating circumstance upon which you might base a sentence of death. That is, that the killing of William Nichols is not to be considered as an aggravating circumstance, not as a conviction to determine if Mr. Lesko has a significant history of felony convictions involving the use or threat of violence toward a person or persons, nor as a conviction of any state offense committed either before or at the time of the offense at issue for which a sentence of life imprisonment or death was imposable. I want it to be clear to you that you are not to use the evidence of the Nichols killing to determine any of the aggravating circumstances described to you. 553 Pa. at 252, 719 A.2d at 226. Noting that the circumstances surrounding a killing are admissible for the jury to consider in imposing sentence, we concluded, [b]ecause the jury was clearly instructed that the Nichols matter was introduced into evidence only for the purpose of showing the motive and circumstances surrounding the killing of Officer Miller, it was not error to admit evidence of the Nichols evidence for the narrow purpose which was instructed. Id. at 253, 719 A.2d at 226. In the instant case, the record reveals that a similar jury instruction was given by the trial court: You've heard evidence concerning the murder of William Nichols. This evidence may not be used as an aggravating circumstance. The purpose for which you may consider this evidence is as proof of motive, intent or absence of accident in the killing of Officer Miller or to rebut evidence of good character offered on behalf of the defendant. N.T. Trial, 7/5/05-7/26/05, at 1167. [11] Consistent with our determination that evidence of the circumstances surrounding the Nichols homicide was admissible in Lesko's penalty phase proceeding to establish motive, intent, or absence of mistake, we reject Appellant's claim that the trial court erred in allowing the prosecution to introduce evidence of the Nichols homicide at his penalty hearing. Moreover, although Appellant suggests the trial court's cautionary instruction in the instant case could not have alleviated the possibility of prejudice in the minds of the jury, we disagree. The trial court's instructions clearly directed the jury that it could not consider evidence of the murder of William Nichols as an aggravating circumstance, and it is well established that a jury is presumed to follow a court's instructions. Commonwealth v. Smith, 606 Pa. 127, 132, 995 A.2d 1143, 1163 (2010). Accordingly, Appellant is not entitled to relief on this claim.