Opinion ID: 1270288
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Testimony of Johnson's Sister

Text: Johnson argues that the trial court erred when it refused to permit his sister from asking for mercy on his behalf. We disagree. During the sentencing phase, Johnson's sister was called to testify on his behalf. Shortly into her testimony, she became emotional, and the trial judge was forced to remove the jury from the courtroom so she could compose herself. While the jury was out, Johnson's attorney informed the court that he intended to ask Johnson's sister whether she wanted Johnson to die. The prosecutor objected. The trial court ruled that the defense could not ask the question pursuant to State v. Matthews, 296 S.C. 379, 373 S.E.2d 587 (1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1091, 109 S.Ct. 1559, 103 L.Ed.2d 861 (1989). After the jury returned, Johnson's sister testified about the abusive family environment she and her brother endured while growing up. She also opined that Jackie King was manipulative and a negative influence on her brother. Johnson's sister was finally asked whether she loved her brother. She responded, Yes, sir. With all of my heart. In State v. Matthews , the defendant argued that the trial court erred when it prohibited defense counsel from asking members of defendant's family which sentence they thought defendant should receive. We held that there was no error because [t]he line of questioning prohibited ... went to the ultimate issue to be decided by the jurylife imprisonment versus death penaltyand was properly reserved for jury determination. State v. Matthews, 296 S.C. at 393, 373 S.E.2d at 595. We later distinguished Matthews in State v. Torrence, 305 S.C. 45, 406 S.E.2d 315 (1991). In Torrence, we adopted the Georgia Supreme Court's distinction between a plea for mercy and the ultimate question to be decided by the jury: [A]lthough a defendant may present witnesses who know and care for him and are willing on that basis to ask for mercy on his behalf, a defendant may not present witnesses to testify merely to their religious and philosophical attitudes about the death penalty .... Nor is a defendant entitled to present the opinion of a witness about what verdict the jury ought to reach. Torrence, 305 S.C. at 51, 406 S.E.2d at 318 (quoting Childs v. State, 257 Ga. 243, 357 S.E.2d 48, 60 (1987)). In Torrence, defense counsel attempted to ask the defendant's mother the following question at sentencing: Do you have a basis for asking this jury to spare your son's life? The prosecutor objected, arguing the question went to the ultimate issue to be decided by the jury. The trial court sustained the objection. We disagreed and found the question was proper because it sought only to have the witness make a general plea for mercy for the life of her son. We distinguished Matthews by stating, [Torrence] did not seek to elicit testimony about what verdict the witness thought should be imposed, as was the case in State v. Matthews. Id. at 51, 406 S.E.2d at 319. Nevertheless, we found that the defendant was not prejudiced by the trial court's ruling because the witness was able to make a general plea for mercy on the defendant's behalf. Here, the defense did not seek to elicit the opinion of Johnson's sister about what verdict the jury ought to reach. Defense counsel merely proposed to ask her whether she wanted Johnson to die. Like Torrence, the prohibited question did not address the ultimate issue to be decided by the jury. However, despite the trial court's ruling which limited her testimony, Johnson's sister was able to make a general plea for mercy on her brother's behalf. In addition to her testimony concerning their abusive family life, she clearly expressed her love and affection for Johnson at trial. Therefore, we conclude Johnson has failed to demonstrate that he was prejudiced by the trial court's ruling.