Opinion ID: 1523828
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: recommendation of sentence

Text: Appellant contends that he was prejudiced because the jury was instructed to recommend rather than fix the penalty upon conviction. We have faced this troublesome question on more than one occasion. The statutes of Kentucky direct that the jury will recommend the sentence in the penalty phase. K.R.S. 532.025(1)(b). We have concluded that use of the word recommend in the instructions, voir dire, or otherwise is not a sufficient ground to require reversal of a death sentence unless the idea of a jury recommendation is so prevalent that it conveys the message that the jurors' awesome responsibility is lessened by the fact that their decision is not final but is only a recommendation. We are not cited to any use of the word recommendation as to sentence except in the instructions. We find that the use was not sufficient to require reversal under Ice v. Commonwealth, Ky., 667 S.W.2d 671 (1984); Ward v. Commonwealth, Ky., 695 S.W.2d 404 (1985); or Caldwell v. Mississippi, 472 U.S. ____, 105 S.Ct. 2633, 86 L.Ed.2d 231 (1985). The appellant contends that the trial court failed to consider the appropriateness of the death penalty because it refused to hear evidence, except by way of avowal, comparing the nature of the acts committed by appellant with the nature of acts which were committed by others who escaped the death penalty by negotiated pleas of guilty or by jury verdicts imposing a penitentiary sentence. K.R.S. 532.025(1)(b) provides: In all cases in which the death penalty may be imposed and which are tried by a jury, upon a return of a verdict of guilty by the jury, the court shall resume the trial and conduct a presentence hearing before the jury. Such hearing shall be conducted in the same manner as presentence hearings conducted before the judge as provided in paragraph (a) of this subsection. Upon the conclusion of the evidence and arguments, the judge shall give the jury appropriate instructions, and the jury shall retire to determine whether any mitigating or aggravating circumstances, as defined in subsection (2) of this section, exist and to recommend a sentence for the defendant. Upon the findings of the jury, the judge shall fix a sentence within the limits prescribed by law. We have held that under this statute, when a jury recommends the death penalty, a trial judge is authorized to reduce the sentence to a term of imprisonment within the limits prescribed by law. Smith v. Commonwealth, Ky., 634 S.W.2d 411 (1982); Gall v. Commonwealth, Ky., 607 S.W.2d 97 (1980). We have not held that a trial judge must conduct a proportionality review. The Supreme Court is required by K.R.S. 532.075(3)(c) to determine whether the sentence of death is excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases considering both the crime and the defendant. We hold that in the exercise of his discretion in the imposition of sentence, a trial judge is not required to conduct a proportionality review. That review will be conducted by the Supreme Court in the event the death penalty is imposed. The record here reflects that the trial judge, at the sentencing hearing, heard testimony from the appellant, the appellant's uncle, and a minister, and listened to extensive argument from appellant's counsel concerning the propriety of the death penalty. The trial judge summed up his reasons for accepting the recommendation of the jury as follows: THE COURT: Defendant's prior criminal record, his emotional and mental condition, the fact that he is  the violent and dangerous nature of his crime, his failure to benefit any previous convictions, the deliberate nature of the crimes  he stalked this person for three days  and his general antisocial attitude. As I see it, he was sentenced for auto stealing one to ten years. I didn't even consider that previously because I didn't know if he was 21 or not, 21 or 18. We had a jailbreak which I didn't consider. Then you had second-degree burglary, one of them in 1962  now whether that's one in 1964 or not, it doesn't make too much difference to me because that was a serious crime to begin with and you had two bank robberies on top of it. And then escape. And then we have this murder, burglary and kidnapping and the facts that I heard in this particular case, he stalked this man for several days and it was a completely deliberate act. There was a lot of question whether he even knew the person. The man was wounded, lying on the ground, he shot him, the fellow was begging for mercy like he's begging for mercy now. He took his wife, and according to her own testimony, he held a knife at her throat. He abducted her. And the only reason why they stopped him, because he tried to run a policeman over. The policeman dived under a car and shot his tire out. Apparently his attitude runs to anything he wanted to do he can do. Then he holed his wife up at a stranger's house and they had the whole Vevay police and the state police out there tied up all afternoon. He threatened, threatened and threatened, yet he claimed he loved the woman. He wouldn't let her get away. And finally by some ruse they did get a hold of him. Fortunately nobody else was killed. Now it seems in that recitation of facts which I heard in court under oath, I see no reason why mercy should be given here. No sufficient cause shown. To withhold rendition of this judgment would unduly depreciate the seriousness of the defendant's crime. This record does not support a contention that the trial court refused to consider under any circumstances a reduction of the sentence recommended by the jury. Rather, it demonstrates that he did hear evidence and argument concerning propriety of the death sentence and determined that, under the circumstances of this case, it was an appropriate penalty. We find that other errors alleged by appellant are not of sufficient merit to justify extension of this opinion. For the reasons stated herein, the judgments of conviction are reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. STEPHENS, C.J., and WHITE, GANT and VANCE, JJ., concur. LEIBSON, J., concurs by separate attached opinion. STEPHENSON, J., dissents by separate attached opinion in which WINTERSHEIMER, J., joins.