Opinion ID: 1782423
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Proportionality review in the direct appeal.

Text: ¶ 52. Turner claims that this Court's review of the proportionality of the death sentence on direct appeal was inadequate. He claims that few other Mississippi death penalty cases involve circumstances in which the jury was asked to find only one statutory aggravating factor. Miss.Code Ann. § 99-19-105(3) requires this Court to review the proportionality of each death sentence before that sentence can be affirmed. In the direct appeal, this Court conducted the statutorily mandated proportionality review and found as follows: It does not appear that Turner's death sentence was imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice or any other arbitrary factor. Neither does it appear, upon comparison to other factually similar cases where the death sentence was imposed, that the sentence of death is disproportionate in this case. Having given individualized consideration to Turner and the crimes in the present case, this Court concludes that there is nothing about Turner or his crimes that would make the death penalty excessive or disproportionate in this case. Turner, 732 So.2d at 956. To the extent that Turner asks this Court to analyze the proportionality of the sentence of death again, the Court finds that that issue has already been decided and is procedurally barred. In post-conviction relief proceedings, [t]he doctrine of res judicata shall apply to all issues, both factual and legal, decided at trial and on direct appeal. Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-21. Notwithstanding the procedural bar, the Court once again finds that the sentence imposed is not disproportionate. In his course of robbing two stores, Turner killed two men without provocation. Both men were shot in the head at close range during robberies. The jury's finding that the murders were done for pecuniary gain is unequivocal. A jury, properly instructed after hearing the evidence, freely determined that Turner's punishment should be death. A review of relevant Supreme Court decisions in other capital cases confirms that the punishment here is proportionate.