Opinion ID: 1863418
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Constitutionality of La.C.Cr.P. art. 905.2(B)

Text: The defendant also argues that the commutation instruction is unconstitutional because it allows a jury to impose a death sentence based on factors that should be considered in mitigation. Citing common sense and testimony from a pardon board member, defendant maintains that an accused, such as himself, who has spent a significant length time in prison and has successfully adapted to prison life, is more likely to receive a pardon or commutation. On the other hand, he notes that juries are more likely to impose a death sentence after hearing the commutation instruction. Therefore, he concludes that the likelihood of executive clemency, which should act as a mitigating factor, in fact, operates as an aggravating circumstance. He contends that the commutation instruction forces the jury to consider evidence of the defendant's propensity for rehabilitation as an aggravating factor, rather than as a mitigating one, in violation of the Eighth Amendment. See, Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 109 S.Ct. 2934, 106 L.Ed.2d 256 (1989) (Texas death penalty scheme held unconstitutional to the extent that the defendant's history of mental illness, a factor traditionally viewed as mitigating evidence, was considered in aggravation, rather than mitigation); Zant v. Stephens, 462 U.S. 862, 103 S.Ct. 2733, 77 L.Ed.2d 235 (1983). However, defendant's reliance on the Penry and Zant cases is baseless. The instruction in the instant case does not concern itself with the statutory list of aggravating and mitigating factors as in Penry. The Penry rationale is also inapposite because the instruction does not relate to the jury any information personal to the defendant, which could be used as an aggravating or mitigating factor. The instruction does not incorporate any references to the defendant's character or his potential for rehabilitation. Defendant has been in jail since April, 1981. He states that he has been an exemplary inmate on death row, and intends to present evidence of his adaptation to prison life at his new penalty trial. Defendant claims that after hearing evidence of his good behavior, the jury will be more likely to impose a death sentence to prevent defendant from ever getting out of prison. La. C.Cr.P. art. 905.2(B) authorizes the introduction of evidence by the defense concerning the frequency and extent of use by the governor of his authority, but nowhere does it allow for speculation at trial concerning a defendant's suitability for clemency or the likelihood that a particular defendant will receive a pardon or commutation. Under the scheme set up under La.C.Cr.P. art. 905.2(B), the jury will only be given a neutral statement of the law concerning the governor's authority to commute a sentence or pardon an offense. The jury will not receive any information concerning the particular characteristics of the offender in relation to the likelihood of his future release. Therefore, the risk of affecting the balance between mitigating and aggravating factors will be minimized. In any case, the United States Supreme Court has stated that this instruction does not interfere with the jury's duty to weigh aggravating and mitigating factors: Consideration of the commutation power does not undermine the jury's statutory responsibility to weigh aggravating factors against mitigating factors and impose death only if the former outweigh the latter. The desirability of the defendant's release into society is simply one matter that enters into the weighing process. Moreover, the fact that the jury is given no specific guidance on how the commutation factor is to figure into its determination presents no constitutional problem. California v. Ramos, 463 U.S. 992, 1008 n. 22, 103 S.Ct. 3446, 3457 n. 22, 77 L.Ed.2d 1171 (1983). The commutation instruction is simply a statement of law concerning executive clemency. It is not styled as, nor can it be confused with, the statutory aggravating circumstances as listed in La.C.Cr.P. art. 905.4. Furthermore, the instruction in La.C.Cr.P. art. 905.2(B) does not concern itself with the particulars of the defendant's behavior; it merely informs the jury of the existence of the governor's pardon power. Clearly, the concerns that the instruction will operate as some sort of ersatz aggravating factor are unfounded.
Defendant expounds on Justice Kimball's concurrence in Jones, arguing that the instruction mandated by La.C.Cr.P. art. 905.2(B) violates federal due process guarantees. [4] Although the U.S. Supreme Court appears to approve of the commutation instruction in Ramos, 463 U.S. 992, 103 S.Ct. 3446, 77 L.Ed.2d 1171, he contends that subsequent jurisprudential developments since Ramos indicate that the Court no longer approves of such instruction. In addition, he argues that the instruction here is different from the Briggs Instruction approved in Ramos and thus cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny under the Ramos analytical framework. First, the defendant contends that the question of the commutation instruction's federal constitutionality has been long settled as a matter of Louisiana law. Citing the long line of decisions beginning with State v. Lindsey, 404 So.2d 466, cert. denied, 464 U.S. 908, 104 S.Ct. 261, 78 L.Ed.2d 246, (1983) and culminating in Jones, he argues that this court has consistently held that this instruction violates federal due process guarantees. However, with the exception of Justice Kimball's concurrence in Jones, neither Lindsey nor Jones delves into questions of federal constitutional law concerning this instruction. In fact, the Jones court noted that Ramos approved of a similar instruction, but emphasized that Ramos deferred to the states to determine whether the instruction was appropriate. Likewise, he contends that our sister states uniformly hold that this instruction violates the federal Constitution. However, a review of the jurisprudence cited in his brief reveals that these cases were all decided before Ramos. In any event, the interpretation of the federal Constitution by the high courts of our sister states, while persuasive, is not controlling given the unequivocal holding in Ramos that such instruction is not prohibited under the federal Constitution. The majority opinion in Ramos freely acknowledged that the vast majority of states with the death penalty, including Louisiana, had condemned instructions on the Governor's power to commute life sentences. Ramos, 463 U.S. at 1014 n. 30, 103 S.Ct. at 3460 & n. 30. In fact, the dissenters (Marshall, Brennan, Stevens and Blackmun, JJ.) could not find any other state which sanctioned the instruction by statute, 463 U.S. at 1026 n. 12, 103 S.Ct. at 3466 n. 12 (Marshall, J., dissenting), and only three state court decisions approving of the practice. Id. at 1027 & ns. 14 and 15, 103 S.Ct. at 3467 & ns. 14 and 15 (citing State v. Jackson, 100 Ariz. 91, 412 P.2d 36 (1966); Brewer v. State, 275 Ind. 338, 417 N.E.2d 889 (1981); and Massa v. State, 37 Ohio App. 532, 175 N.E. 219 (1930)). On the other hand, twenty-five states had explicitly prohibited discussion of pardon and commutation at a capital sentencing hearing. Ramos, 463 U.S. at 1027 n. 13, 103 S.Ct. at 3466 n. 13. Notwithstanding the overwhelming weight of contrary opinion, the majority emphatically stated that there existed no federal constitutional prohibition to the Briggs Instruction, but that: Our decision is not intended to override the contrary judgment of state legislatures that capital sentencing juries in their States should not be permitted to consider the Governor's power to commute a sentence. It is elementary that States are free to provide greater protections in their criminal justice system than the Federal Constitution requires. We sit as judges, not as legislators, and the wisdom of the decision to permit juror consideration of possible commutation is best left to the States. Id. at 1013-15, 103 S.Ct. at 3460. Notwithstanding the jurisprudence in any other state, Ramos rules out any possible federal limitation on the power of Louisiana to manipulate its constitutional and statutory law with respect to this instruction. Ramos considered the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment implications of California's so-called Briggs Instruction, required by the state's capital sentencing law, which informed jurors that the Governor's power of commutation gave him the authority to commute or modify a sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole to a lesser sentence that would include the possibility of parole. [5] The California Supreme Court struck down the Briggs Instruction on federal constitutional grounds because it deflected the jury's consideration of the defendant's character and the circumstances of the particular offense and interjected a wholly speculative element into the sentencing process. The court also held that the instruction's failure to inform jurors evenhandedly that the governor could also commute a death sentence left jurors with the mistaken impression that only a capital sentence could keep the defendant off the streets Ramos, 463 U.S. at 994-98, 103 S.Ct. at 3450-51. In a five to four decision, the Ramos court found unpersuasive the suggestion that the possible commutation of a life sentence must be held constitutionally irrelevant to the sentencing decision and that it is too speculative an element for the jury's consideration. 463 U.S. at 1001-03, 103 S.Ct. at 3454. The Court had previously upheld the Texas capital sentencing scheme which made the defendant's future dangerousness one of three relevant statutory considerations. Jurek v. Texas, 428 U.S. 262, 96 S.Ct. 2950, 49 L.Ed.2d 929 (1976). To the majority in Ramos, the Briggs Instruction simply invit[ed] the jury to assess whether the defendant is someone whose probable future behavior makes it undesirable that he be permitted to return to society ... [and] focuses the jury on the defendant's probable future dangerousness. Ramos, 463 U.S. at 1001-03, 103 S.Ct. at 3454. In that sense, the Briggs Instruction prompted the goal of individualized sentencing because it invited jurors to predict not so much what some future Governor might do, but more what the defendant himself might do if released into society. Id. at 1005, 103 S.Ct. at 3456. The instruction therefore did not impair the reliability of the sentencing process because it gave jurors accurate information of which both the defendant and his counsel are aware, and it does not preclude the defendant from offering any evidence or argument regarding the Governor's power to commute a life sentence. Id. (footnote omitted). Furthermore, Louisiana's instruction is an even-handed one which accurately informs jurors that a death sentence as well as a life sentence remains subject to executive revision. As Ramos indicates, the Supreme Court appears satisfied that as long as the information is accurately presented in a manner which does not affirmatively mislead the jury, the Due Process Clause is not offended. In Simmons v. South Carolina, 512 U.S. 154, 168, 114 S.Ct. 2187, 2196, 129 L.Ed.2d 133 (1994), the Supreme Court reiterated its holding in Ramos, observing that: ... Ramos stands for the broad proposition that we generally will defer to a State's determination as to what a jury should and should not be told about sentencing.... States reasonably may conclude that truthful information regarding the availability of commutation, pardon, and the like, should be kept from the jury in order to provide greater protection in [the States'] criminal justice system than the Federal Constitution requires. (citing Ramos ). Concomitantly, nothing in the Constitution prohibits the prosecution from arguing any truthful information relating to parole or other forms of early release. Simmons, 512 U.S. at 168, 114 S.Ct. at 2196. Contrary to defendant's assertions, Simmons therefore reaffirmed the broad holding of Ramos in the context of clarifying that if a state decides to make information about commutation and parole an issue in a capital sentencing hearing, it must do so in a fair and accurate manner. In Simmons, the defendant was tried for capital murder in South Carolina, where his prior record rendered him statutorily ineligible for parole if he received a life sentence. The prosecutor argued the defendant's future dangerousness in the penalty phase closing argument, however, and asked for a death verdict as an act of self defense on behalf of society. Defense counsel's requests that the jury be instructed about the defendant's parole ineligibility were denied. When the jury sent a note specifically asking about the defendant's parole eligibility, the judge told them that this was not a proper issue for their consideration, and sent them back to deliberate further. Simmons, 512 U.S. at 158-59, 114 S.Ct. at 2191-92. The Supreme Court observed that the defendant's federal due process rights had been violated because the trial judge's actions had the effect of creating a false choice between sentencing petitioner to death and sentencing him to a limited period of incarceration. Simmons, 512 U.S. at 161-62, 114 S.Ct. at 2193. At the crux of the matter in Simmons was not whether the federal Constitution prohibited juries from speculating about the future on the basis of accurate sentencing information (a question foreclosed by Ramos ), but whether the Due Process Clause would tolerate an argument that, on the one hand, encouraged jurors to return a capital sentence because of the defendant's future dangerousness and that, on the other hand, conceal[ed] from the sentencing jury the true meaning on its non-capital sentencing alternative, namely, that life imprisonment meant life without parole. Simmons, 512 U.S. at 162, 114 S.Ct. at 2193. The Court concluded: [I]f the State rests its case for imposing the death penalty at least in part on the premise that the defendant will be dangerous in the future, the fact that the alternative sentence to death is life without parole will necessarily undercut the State's argument regarding the threat the defendant possesses to society. Because truthful information of parole ineligibility allows the defendant to `deny or explain' the showing of future dangerousness, due process plainly requires that he be allowed to bring it to the jury's attention by way of argument by defense counsel or an instruction from the court. 512 U.S. at 168, 114 S.Ct. at 2196 (Blackmun, J.) Simmons therefore is a case about fairness and the defendant's due process right to a rebuttal. If the state places the defendant's future dangerousness at issue, then the defendant must be allowed to counteract that claim by informing the jury that there is no hope for his release. The state should not be allowed to restrict the jury's access to relevant sentencing information in a way which creates an unacceptable risk of skewing the sentencing process and rendering the result unreliable. It is not the propriety of the commutation instruction which is at issue in Simmons, but the presentation of accurate sentencing information, which, according to Ramos, is essential to fulfill due process guarantees. The United States Supreme Court's subsequent decision in Caldwell v. Mississippi, 472 U.S. 320, 105 S.Ct. 2633, 86 L.Ed.2d 231, (1985), did not disturb the holding in Ramos. Less than two years after it decided Ramos, the Supreme Court made clear in Caldwell that the state may not diminish the jury's sense of responsibility of its crucial sentencing determination in a capital case by arguing that its verdict is not final and subject to review by a higher court. Caldwell, 472 U.S. at 335-37, 105 S.Ct. at 2643. The Court narrowed the application of Ramos, stating that Ramos did not stand for the broad proposition that states are free to expose capital sentencing juries to any information concerning post-sentencing procedures. The Court nevertheless reaffirmed its basic holding in Ramos regarding the commutation instruction, while distinguishing the prosecutorial remarks made in Caldwell. The Court held that accurate information regarding the governor's commutation power was relevant to sentencing determinations, but that information concerning appellate review is not linked to any arguably valid sentencing consideration. Caldwell, 472 U.S. at 335, 105 S.Ct. at 2643. Thus, the Court's specific holding regarding the commutation instruction was left untouched. To support his contention that Ramos is no longer valid, relator also cites a recent circuit court opinion holding that a modified Briggs Instruction introduced arbitrary factors into the sentencing determination in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. Hamilton v. Vasquez, 17 F.3d 1149 (9th Cir.1994). The defendant in Hamilton was tried in 1981 before Ramos while the Briggs Instruction was still being given. However, the two-sentence Briggs Instruction upheld in Ramos was inapplicable to Hamilton because, unlike the defendant in Ramos, Hamilton was a twice-convicted felon and was subject to different commutation requirements under California law. Id. at 1163. Consequently, the trial court created a modified Briggs instruction based on proposals from both sides. [6] The resulting instruction was a lengthy, confusing hodgepodge of information concerning the rules for the commutation of the defendant's sentence. The appellate court found: This instruction is very different from the two-sentence instruction upheld by the United States Supreme Court in Ramos. That instruction invited no predictions on what the Governor might do. In stark contrast, the instruction in this case so focused on the commutation and parole process that speculation was inevitable, and not only about the Governor, but about the state Supreme Court, and parole officials as well. Id. at 1162. The court also noted that, at the time of Hamilton's trial, California law prohibited the defense from showing the actual likelihood of a person ever being paroled if he were sentenced to life imprisonment. The court found that the instruction, as given, incorrectly suggested that if the jury sentenced the defendant to life without parole, he would nevertheless be eligible for parole in as little as seventeen years. Id. at 1162-63. In short, the modified instruction given in this case did the very thing that the United States Supreme Court in Ramos said the instruction in that case did not do: the instruction in this case created inaccuracies and confusion. Id. at 1163. Clearly, the Hamilton decision is based on its facts, not on a rethinking of the Ramos rationale. As discussed above, subsequent jurisprudential developments in Simmons, Caldwell, and Hamilton have not affected the continued viability of Ramos. Defendant maintains that even under Ramos, La.C.Cr.P. art. 905.2(B) violates federal due process guarantees. Essential to the Ramos holding was the principle that the Briggs Instruction was aimed at accuracy. In particular, it was designed to correct the inaccuracy of the sentence description under California law as `life imprisonment without possibility of parole'... when, under state law, the Governor possesses authority to commute that sentence to a lesser sentence that includes the possibility of parole. Ramos, 463 U.S. at 1007-11, 103 S.Ct. at 3457-58 (emphasis in original). As the Ninth Circuit observed, [t]he necessary corollary of that holding ... is that if an instruction is inaccurate or misleading it will not be upheld. Hamilton, 17 F.3d at 1160. Defendant further contends that the instruction as set forth in La.C.Cr.P. art. 905.2(B) provides the jury with false and misleading information. First, he maintains that the instruction is inaccurate in its statement that the governor has the power to commute sentences because the governor may only commute sentences upon recommendation of the Board of Pardons. La. Const. art. V, § 5(E)(1); Jones, 639 So.2d at 1150. Given that the governor has ultimate decision-making authority regarding clemency, the statement is not wholly inaccurate. California appears to have similar constitutional provisions which did not trouble the Ramos court when it concluded that the Briggs Instruction was an accurate statement of the law. See Hamilton, 17 F.3d at 1162. Thus, the instruction, as written in La.C.Cr.P. art. 905.2(B) is not inaccurate insofar as federal due process is concerned. Defendant further argues that the commutation instruction is misleading because it creates the false impression that the governor is out there continually commuting sentences. However, the Ramos court discounted this concern. While the Court acknowledged that the Briggs Instruction by its terms may incline [the jury's] thoughts to the probability that the current or some future Governor might commute the defendant's sentence, Ramos, 463 U.S. at 1002 n. 17, 103 S.Ct. at 3454 n. 17, the Court emphasized that this instruction was not misleading. Ramos, 463 U.S. at 1004 n. 19, 103 S.Ct. at 3455 n. 19. The Briggs Instruction gives the jury accurate information of which both the defendant and his counsel are aware, and it does not preclude the defendant from offering any evidence or argument regarding the Governor's power to commute a life sentence. Ramos, 463 U.S. at 1004, 103 S.Ct. at 3455. In the instant case, the instruction gives an accurate statement of the law and affords the defendant the opportunity to present evidence concerning the frequency and extent of the use of this power. Thus, the danger that any mischaracterization of the governor's power may occur are minimized by the defense's right to present such evidence. Defendant further observes that unlike the Briggs Instruction in Ramos, Louisiana's law expressly refers to the governor's power to commute a death sentence. He argues that this additional statement renders the instruction unconstitutional under Ramos. Although this evenhandedness would appear to make the instruction more fair and accurate, as defendant points out, Ramos suggests that mentioning the power to commute death sentences may create, not solve, constitutional problems by lessening the jury's sense of responsibility for making its critical sentencing determination. Ramos, 463 U.S. at 1011-13, 103 S.Ct. at 3459. Nevertheless, the Ramos court explicitly stated that the federal Constitution does not prohibit an instruction regarding the governor's power to commute a death sentence. Id. 463 U.S. at 1012 n. 27, 103 S.Ct. at 3459 n. 27. Therefore, informing the jury that the governor may commute a death sentence, as well as a sentence of life imprisonment, does not violate the Due Process Clause according to Ramos. Finally, relator argues that if the defense does adduce statistical information regarding the number of commutations, it will further add to racial discrimination in the administration of the death penalty. He points out the black males are the most frequent recipients of commutations. Therefore, juries will be incited to impose harsher punishments on black defendants to compensate for use of the commutation power in their favor. Nonetheless, as defendant himself observes, these racial considerations are irrelevant to the jury's sentencing determination and it is axiomatic that it is unconstitutional to predicate a sentence on the race of the accused. Cf. McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279, 107 S.Ct. 1756, 95 L.Ed.2d 262 (1987). Given the admitted irrelevancy of this racial information, certainly this evidence will not be permitted. While the defendant may present evidence concerning the frequency and extent of the use of executive clemency, La.C.Cr.P. art. 905.2(B) does not provide for the introduction of prejudicial information about the racial background of those defendants who have received commutations. Hence, under Ramos, the brief, neutrally-worded instruction in Art. 905.2(B), like the Briggs instruction, does not implicate federal due process concerns. The instant instruction does not invite the kind of speculation or result in the same degree of confusion as the lengthy, detailed instruction in Hamilton.
Defendant argues that the reenacted version of La.C.Cr.P. art. 905.2(B) exceeds the scope of the authorization in the constitutional amendment. La. Const. art. I, § 16, as amended, states: Every person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty and is entitled to a speedy, public, and impartial trial in the parish where the offense or an element of the offense occurred, unless venue is changed in accordance with law. No person shall be compelled to give evidence against himself. An accused is entitled to confront and cross-examine the witnesses against him, to compel the attendance of witnesses, to present a defense, and to testify in his own behalf. However, nothing in this Section or any other section of this constitution shall prohibit the legislature from enacting a law to require a trial court to instruct a jury in a criminal trial that the governor is empowered to grant a reprieve, pardon, or commutation of sentence following conviction of a crime, that the governor in exercising such authority may commute or modify a sentence of life imprisonment without benefit of parole to a lesser sentence which includes the possibility of parole, may commute a sentence of death to a lesser sentence of life imprisonment without benefit of parole, or may allow the release of an offender either by reducing a life imprisonment or death sentence to the time already served by the offender or by granting the offender a pardon. 1995 La. Acts No. 1322 (emphasis added to denote amendment). Relator notes that the amendment authorizes the delivery of the commutation instruction and nothing more. However, the last sentence of La.C.Cr.P. art. 905.2(B) provides that [t]he defense may argue or present evidence to the jury on the frequency and extent of use by the governor of his authority. Given the absence of constitutional language allowing the introduction of such evidence, relator argues that introduction of the evidence is prohibited. Because there is no constitutional basis for the article as enacted, relator contends that La.C.Cr.P. art. 905.2(B) is unconstitutional. [7] Whether the Louisiana Constitution provides for the introduction of such evidence is irrelevant given that federal jurisprudence mandates the introduction of such evidence. The United States Supreme Court has held that the Due Process Clause does not allow the execution of a person on the basis of information which he had no opportunity to deny or explain. Gardner v. Florida, 430 U.S. 349, 361, 97 S.Ct. 1197, 1207, 51 L.Ed.2d 393 (1977). As a result, the Ramos court noted favorably that the Briggs Instruction does not preclude the defendant from offering any evidence or argument regarding the governor's power to commute a life sentence. Ramos, 463 U.S. at 1003-05, 103 S.Ct. at 3455. Later, the Court held that such an opportunity to deny or explain was required by due process when the jury could reasonably have believed that a defendant might be released if he were not executed. In Simmons, the Court held that the jury should have been informed that a life sentence did not include the possibility of parole so that the jury would not be presented with a false choice between death or imprisonment for a number of years. Simmons, 512 U.S. at 161, 114 S.Ct. at 2193. To prevent this false choice from being presented to the jury, it is necessary that the defendant should be allowed to present evidence concerning the commutation power to deny or explain the frequency and extent of the use of this gubernatorial power. It would be violative of due process to prevent a defendant from offering evidence concerning the governor's commutation power. Therefore, whether the last sentence of Art. 905.2(B) was specifically authorized by the Louisiana Constitution is irrelevant given the federal mandate that it be included.
Next, relator argues that La.C.Cr.P. art. 905.2(B) violates the separation of powers under the Louisiana Constitution by unduly burdening the office of the governor. He asserts that this legislative enactment creates a federal right to call the governor to testify, which therefore impinges on this state's separation of powers doctrine. He asserts that the last sentence of the article has two effects: first, the governor will be forced to disclose his privileged rationale for granting or denying clemency, and second, by requiring the governor to testify at trials, the legislature has made his job practically impossible. See, Jones, 639 So.2d at 1153. Despite relator's insistence that the governor testify at his penalty phase hearing and his dire predictions regarding legislative interference with the Governor's duties, both state and federal jurisprudence indicate that La.C.Cr.P. art. 905.2(B) does not require the governor to testify concerning his standards for granting or denying clemency, but in fact, prohibit it. First, the language in La.C.Cr.P. art. 905.2(B) prescribing the type of evidence that may be introduced by the defense is narrowly drawn and clearly does not permit testimony by the governor. The last sentence of La.C.Cr.P. art. 905.2(B) provides that [t]he defense may argue or present evidence to the jury on the frequency and extent of use by the governor of his authority. (emphasis added). The terms frequency and extent do not appear to allow evidence concerning the governor's rationale behind his use of pardon power. The word frequency may reasonably be interpreted to mean how often, which would entail a description of the number of pardons and commutations since the death penalty was reinstituted. The term extent may reasonably be interpreted to mean to what degree offenders are pardoned or their sentences are commuted. For example, to demonstrate the extent of the governor's power, defense evidence could describe how the governor commuted a life sentence to a term of years, relating the new length of the commuted sentence. According to the article these two types of evidence are the only ones authorized, and obviously, neither term refers to the governor's rationale behind the granting or denial of clemency. Thus, the burdens on the executive branch forecast by relator will not materialize. Second, both state and federal jurisprudence prohibit delving into the details of the procedure by which executive clemency is granted, a process that is shrouded in mystery and often fraught with arbitrariness. Jones, 639 So.2d at 1150. Presenting evidence regarding the governor's decision-making process would only serve to invite speculation as to the governor's future actions, compromising the defendant's due process rights. Such speculation would surely introduce an arbitrary factor into an otherwise straightforward discussion of executive clemency, resulting in a denial of due process rights. See Ramos, 463 U.S. at 1002-07, 103 S.Ct. at 3455-56; Jones, 639 So.2d at 1153. Nevertheless, the Ramos court noted approvingly that the defendant there was allowed to offer evidence or argument regarding the commutation power and that the defense, in fact, addressed the possibility of the Governor's commutation of a life sentence in his closing argument. Ramos, 463 U.S. at 1004 n. 19, 103 S.Ct. at 3455 n. 19. The Court also noted that the introduction of accurate information concerning the likelihood of commutation precludes the type of speculation that could thwart due process guarantees. Id. at 1003-05, 103 S.Ct. at 3455. However, the Court disapproved of instructions which would invite the jury to speculate as to what a future governor might do. Id. at 3456.