Opinion ID: 772959
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Billie Jerome Allen

Text: 7 Allen raises a host of facial constitutional challenges, based on the Eighth Amendment and Article I of the Constitution, to the Federal Death Penalty Act of 1994 (hereinafter FDPA). See 18 U.S.C. §§ 3591-3598 (1994). We review claims of constitutional error and issues of statutory construction de novo. See Hamilton v. Schriro, 74 F.3d 1545, 1552 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 874 (1996). 8
9 Allen argues that the use of non-statutory aggravating factors, which the FDPA explicitly allows, 3 fails to adequately limit and guide the sentencing discretion of the jury in violation of various Supreme Court decisions interpreting the Eighth Amendment. See, e.g., Lewis v. Jeffers, 497 U.S. 764, 774 (1990) (explaining that a sentencing body's discretion must be suitably directed and limited, by clear and objective standards that provide specific and detailed guidance, so as to minimize the risk of wholly arbitrary and capricious action and to make rationally reviewable the process for imposing a death sentence) (citing Godfrey v. Georgia, 446 U.S. 420, 428 (1980), and Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 189 (1976)). We disagree with Allen's underlying premise that the purpose of the non-statutory aggravating factors under the FDPA is to limit and guide a jury's discretion in determining who is eligible to receive a sentence of death. The statutorily defined aggravating circumstances are those which channel the sentencer's discretion because they are the circumstances which make a defendant eligible for the death penalty. See Lewis, 497 U.S. at 774. 10 The primary purpose of the non-statutory aggravating factors, as opposed to the listed statutory aggravating factors which do fulfill the role of limiting and guiding a jury's discretion in making the eligibility decision, is to allow for the individualized determination of whether a death sentence is justified for a particular defendant; that is, they help to inform the selection decision. As the Supreme Court has explained, 11 [o]ur capital punishment cases under the Eighth Amendment address two different aspects of the capital decision-making process: the eligibility decision and the selection decision.... To render a defendant eligible... the trier of fact must... find one 'aggravating circumstance'.... We have imposed a separate requirement for the selection decision, where the sentencer determines whether a defendant eligible for the death penalty should in fact receive that sentence. What is important at the selection stage is an individualized determination on the basis of the character of the individual and the circumstances of the crime. 12 Tuilaepa v. California, 512 U.S. 967, 971-72 (1994) (internal quotations omitted). The Supreme Court has also stated the following: 13 Our cases indicate, then, that statutory aggravating circumstances play a constitutionally necessary function at the stage of legislative definition: they circumscribe the class of persons eligible for the death penalty. But the Constitution does not require the jury to ignore other possible aggravating factors in the process of selecting, from among that class, those defendants who will actually be sentenced to death. Zant v. Stephens, 462 U.S. 862, 878 (1983). 14 The framework of the FDPA passes constitutional muster because it does not allow imposition of the death penalty unless the jury first finds at least one statutory aggravating circumstance. 15 The jury... shall return special findings identifying any aggravating factor or factors set forth in section 3592 found to exist and any other aggravating factor for which notice has been provided under subsection (a) found to exist.... If no aggravating factor set forth in section 3592 is found to exist, the court shall impose a sentence other than death.... 16 18 U.S.C. § 3593(d). If no listed statutory aggravator is unanimously found by the jury, no sentence of death can be imposed. We therefore find no constitutional infirmity with the FDPA's permitting the prosecution to propose non-statutory aggravating factors to fit the particular circumstances of a crime and to assist the jury in determining whether the death penalty should be imposed upon a defendant already determined to be eligible for that ultimate punishment. 17 Allen also argues that the FDPA impermissibly delegates legislative power to government prosecutors by allowing them the discretion to propose non-statutory aggravating factors to a capital sentencing jury. Congress may not delegate its legislative power to another Branch, but it may seek assistance from another Branch so long as Congress legislates an intelligible principle to which the person or body authorized to exercise the delegated authority is directed to conform. Mistretta v. United States, 488 U.S. 361, 372 (1989) (upholding the United States Sentencing Guidelines). See id. at 390 (pointing out that the federal sentencing function long has been a peculiarly shared responsibility rather than the exclusive constitutional province of any one Branch and finding no unconstitutional delegation of legislative power). As the Fifth Circuit has pointed out, there are at least four limitations on a prosecutor's discretion with respect to non-statutory aggravating factors. See United States v. Jones, 132 F.3d 232, 239-40 (5th Cir. 1998), aff'd, 527 U.S. 373 (1999). A jury must find the existence of at least one statutory aggravating factor before it can even consider proposed non-statutory factors, a prosecutor can only argue those non-statutory aggravating factors for which the defendant has been given prior notice, a non-statutory aggravating factor itself must conform with due process jurisprudence, and a district judge is required to screen out any irrelevant and unduly prejudicial information a prosecutor may try to introduce to the jury in order to prove a non-statutory aggravating factor. Id. at 240. We agree with the Fifth Circuit that these limitations provide intelligible principles which constrain a prosecutor's discretion such that the delegation is not unconstitutional. United States v. Paul, 217 F.3d 989, 1003 (8th Cir. 2000) (holding that the prosecutor's authority to define non-statutory aggravating factors is a constitutional delegation of Congress's legislative power); See also United States v. Tipton, 90 F.3d 861, 895 (4th Cir. 1996)(holding that any delegation of legislative authority was permissible, without deciding whether there was in fact any delegation), cert. denied, 520 U.S. 1253 (1997); United States v. McCullah, 76 F.3d 1087, 1106-07 (10th Cir. 1996), cert. denied, 520 U.S. 1213 (1997). 18 Finally, Allen argues that the FDPA's allowance of non-statutory aggravating factors violates the constitutional prohibition against ex post facto laws. 4 We reject Allen's argument, however, because the statutes under which he was convicted make clear that a sentence of death is authorized, and non-statutory aggravating factors are not used to determine eligibility for the death penalty. Thus, proposing non-statutory aggravating factors to the jury does not in any way alter the definition of the underlying crime for which Allen was convicted, nor does it increase the punishment to which Allen is subjected. 5 See Walton v. Arizona, 497 U.S. 639, 648 (1990)(finding that aggravating circumstances are not separate penalties or offenses); Lewis, 497 U.S. at 782 (1990) (finding that aggravating circumstances are not elements of any offense). 19
20 Allen argues that because the FDPA allows the introduction during the sentencing phase of information rather than only evidence, a jury's sentencing decision under the FDPA is inherently unreliable in violation of the Eighth Amendment. We reject this claim. The FDPA allows either party to introduce any information relevant to an aggravating or mitigating factor, regardless of its admissibility under the federal rules of evidence, but provides that the information may be excluded if its probative value is outweighed by the danger of creating unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, or misleading the jury. 18 U.S.C. § 3593(c). Thus, not only does the statute protect a defendant from both irrelevant information and overly prejudicial information, the relaxed evidentiary standard also works to a defendant's advantage in helping to prove mitigating factors and to disprove aggravating factors. Allen's reliance on California v. Brown, 479 U.S. 538, 542-43 (1987), which used the term evidence rather than information in its opinion, is misplaced because the distinction between evidence and information was not at issue. We therefore reject Allen's facial challenge to the FDPA's relaxed evidentiary standard during sentencing. See Gregg, 428 U.S. at 204 (We think it desirable for the jury to have as much information before it as possible when it makes the sentencing decision.); Jones, 132 F.3d at 242 (holding that the [FDPA's] relaxed evidentiary standard does not impair the reliability or relevance of information at capital sentencing hearings, but helps to accomplish the individualized sentencing required by the [C]onstitution). 21
22 Allen claims that the FDPA is unconstitutional because it lacks proportionality review. Allen argues that the Supreme Court's decision in Gregg mandates proportionality review whenever a death penalty statute allows the consideration of non-statutory aggravating factors in the final sentencing decision. We disagree with Allen's reading of the Supreme Court's holding in Gregg. See Pulley v. Harris, 465 U.S. 37, 50-51 (1984) (holding that although proportionality review is an additional safeguard against arbitrarily imposed death sentences, neither precedent [including Gregg] nor the Eighth Amendment mandates proportionality review in every case). As the Supreme Court held in McCleskey v. Kemp, [w]here the statutory procedures adequately channel the sentencer's discretion, such proportionality review is not constitutionally required. 481 U.S. 279, 306 (1987). We hold that the FDPA has sufficient safeguards--notably the requirements that a jury find beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of one statutory aggravating factor and at least one of four requisite levels of specific intent on the part of a defendant, not to mention various other procedural protections 6 --such that proportionality review is not required in order for the FDPA to pass constitutional muster. 23 We also reject Allen's argument that the absence of mandatory, automatic appellate review somehow violates the Eighth Amendment because it is incompatible with the evolving standards of decency of a maturing society. Even if this challenge to the FDPA is a valid argument under the Eighth Amendment, which we highly doubt, Allen lacks standing to raise this challenge because he has taken advantage of appellate review and thus can show no actual harm in the FDPA's requirement that a defendant must initiate appellate review. 24
25 Allen argues that the remarkable breadth of the FDPA fails to narrow genuinely the class of persons eligible for execution and fails to channel adequately a sentencing jury's discretion. See Zant, 462 U.S. at 877. We agree with the Fifth Circuit that, under the Constitution, the FDPA adequately narrows the class of persons eligible for the death penalty and sufficiently channels a jury's sentencing discretion. See Jones 132 F.3d at 248-49 (finding that the FDPA narrows a jury's sentencing discretion by first requiring that a defendant had the requisite intent and second that at least one statutory aggravating factor is present). Moreover, the FDPA limits the class of persons eligible for the death penalty even before the jury considers intent and aggravating circumstances by authorizing the death penalty only for certain federal crimes. In short, how broadly or how narrowly the death penalty should be applied as punishment, if at all, is essentially a political choice left to the people's elected representatives in the legislative and executive branches, and we find none of the Eighth Amendment's limitations on that legislative choice facially applicable to the FDPA. See, e.g., Coker v. Georgia, 433 U.S. 584, 592 (1977) (ruling that the death penalty for rape is grossly disproportionate and excessive and thus cruel and unusual punishment); Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S. 782, 788 (1982) (prohibiting the death penalty where it is greatly disproportionate to a defendant's culpability). We therefore reject Allen's argument that the FDPA authorizes a sentence of death for too many federal crimes. In particular, with respect to this case, murder is a crime for which the death penalty has long been deemed appropriate.
26
27 The FDPA requires the government to file with the court, and to serve on the defendant, a notice of intent to seek the death penalty a reasonable time before the trial or before acceptance by the court of a plea of guilty. 18 U.S.C. § 3593(a). This notice of intent must include a statement that the government believes the circumstances of the case justify imposing a sentence of death and that if the jury finds the defendant guilty the government will seek a sentence of death. Id. The notice must also set forth any aggravating factors the government intends to use as justification for a sentence of death. Id. There is no allegation that the government's properly and timely filed notice of intent in this case has failed to meet the FDPA's statutory notice requirements. Instead, Allen directly challenges the adequacy of the FDPA under the Constitution. 28 Allen specifically argues that his sentence was imposed in violation of the Fifth Amendment's Indictment Clause 7 because the FDPA fails to require that the decision to seek the death penalty, just like the decision to charge a defendant with a federal offense, be routed through the Grand Jury. Allen also argues that the government's failure to allege in his indictment both the mental culpability factor from § 3591(a) and the aggravating factors from § 3592(c) upon which it relied during sentencing as the justification for imposing a death sentence constitutes constitutional error in light of the Supreme Court's recent rulings in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 120 S. Ct. 2348 (2000), and Jones v. United States, 526 U.S. 227 (2000). We respectfully disagree. 29 First, we reject Allen's argument that his case did not become a capital case (as referred to in the Fifth Amendment) until the notice of intent was actually filed. We hold that the original indictment returnedby the Grand Jury sufficiently alleged a capital offense against Allen upon which he could be tried and, if convicted, could be sentenced to death. The penalties listed for the offenses in the indictment against Allen are death or life imprisonment for Count I and death or by imprisonment for any term of years or for life for Count II. See 18 U.S.C. § 2113(e) (1994) and 18 U.S.C. § 924(j) (Supp. II 1996), respectively. Allen's attempted reliance on Stirone v. United States, 361 U.S. 212, 217 (1960), which held that once an indictment is returned, charges may not be broadened later except through the Grand Jury, is misplaced. The reasoning of Stirone is not implicated and does not control the outcome of this case because the original indictment sufficiently charged an offense which expressly subjects a convicted defendant to a maximum punishment of death. Because both § 2113(e) and § 924(j) specifically authorize the death penalty as punishment for any defendant found guilty of the listed offense, the Fifth Amendment's Indictment Clause is satisfied. 30 Congress is free to pass, and may even be required to pass under the Eighth Amendment, additional protections for a capital defendant prior to the actual imposition of a death sentence, as it did by requiring notice of intent to seek the death penalty along with notice of any proposed aggravating factors a reasonable time before trial. But these protections do not increase the maximum sentence set forth in each of the statutes for the specific offenses alleged in the indictment and thus do not amount to separate elements that must be alleged in the indictment. See Apprendi, 120 S. Ct. at 2362-63; Jones, 526 U.S. at 251. In short, even if Allen is correct that under the FDPA and the Eighth Amendment the charged offenses could not be prosecuted as capital crimes until the notice was filed along with the proposed aggravating factors, we conclude that the original indictment nevertheless sufficiently alleged a capital crime as required by the Fifth Amendment's Indictment Clause. 31 For similar reasons, we also reject Allen's contention that aggravating factors and mental culpability factors must be alleged in an indictment in order to satisfy the Fifth Amendment. A defendant is entitled to 'a jury determination that he is guilty of every element of the crime with which he is charged, beyond a reasonable doubt.' Apprendi, 120 S. Ct. at 2356 (quoting United States v. Gaudin, 515 U.S. 506, 510 (1995)). Also, under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment and the notice and jury trial guarantees of the Sixth Amendment, any fact (other than prior conviction) that increases the maximum penalty for a crime must be charged in an indictment, submitted to a jury, and proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Jones, 526 U.S. at 243 n.6. We note initially that the Sixth Amendment's right to trial by jury and the Fifth Amendment's due process requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt have been satisfied as to the mental culpability factors and the aggravating factors at issue here. We need only examine whether the Fifth Amendment's indictment requirements have been met. 32 We begin by determining whether the mental culpability factors and statutory aggravating factors are elements of the underlying offense, because as already noted, every element of an offense must be charged in an indictment to satisfy the Fifth Amendment. The structure of the two statutes indicates that neither factor is an element of the offense of conviction. The two factors are listed in entirely different sections of the United States Code. Compare 18 U.S.C. §§ 2113(e) and 924(j) (setting forth the underlying criminal offenses) with 18 U.S.C. §§ 3591(a) and 3592(c) (setting forth the FDPA's sentencing procedures and requirements). Thus, it is clear from the plain language of the various statutes that Congress did not make the mental culpability factors or the statutory aggravating factors elements of the underlying offense. 33 The next question, then, is whether the mental culpability factors and statutory aggravating factors are deemed elements of the crime by virtue of being facts which are the basis for increasing the maximum punishment. See Apprendi, 120 S. Ct. at 2362-63 (holding that any fact, other than fact of prior convictions, which increases the penalty for a crime beyond the statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury and proven beyond a reasonable doubt); id. at 2368 (explaining that every fact that is by law a basis for imposing or increasing punishment (in contrast with a fact that mitigates punishment) is an element of the crime or aggravated crime) (Thomas and Scalia, JJ., concurring). We think that when read in the context of the Supreme Court's decisions interpreting the Eighth Amendment in death cases over the past two decades, these two features of the FDPA are properly characterized as sentencing protections that shield a defendant from automatically receiving the statutorily authorized death sentence. The underlying crimes of conviction expose a convicted defendant to either death or a life sentence. In each case, death is the first punishment authorized by each statute. Under the FDPA, if a jury cannot agree unanimously beyond a reasonable doubt that a convicted defendant acted with one of the four listed mental culpability states, then a defendant's maximum sentence is limited to life in prison. Similarly, if the jury cannot agree unanimously beyond a reasonable doubt that the convicted defendant's actions fit the definition of at least one of the listed statutory aggravating factors, then a defendant's sentence is limited to life in prison. Finally, if the jury cannot agree unanimously that the aggravating factors sufficiently outweigh the mitigating factors such that a sentence of death is justified, then the defendant's sentence is limited to life in prison. 34 Allen argues that each of the above jury determinations should be viewed as elements that increase the maximum penalty by assuming that a life sentence is the initial baseline from which the jury's sentencing determinations under the FDPA are viewed. We reject this interpretation because the statutes at issue expressly authorize a maximum penalty of death and the sentencing factors of mental culpability and aggravating circumstances do not increase the sentencing range but rather provide the particularized standards for choosing which of the alternative available sentences should be imposed. Making a defendant automatically eligible for the death penalty absent these types of protective requirements is prohibited by Eighth Amendment jurisprudence. See Apprendi, 120 S. Ct. at 2380 (noting that a legislature may not provide by statute that a person is death eligible automatically upon conviction because in the area of capital punishment, the Court has imposed special constraints on a legislature's ability to determine what facts shall lead to what punishment--we have restricted the legislature's ability to define crimes) (Thomas and Scalia, JJ., concurring). The fact-finding barrier that exists between a jury verdict that a defendant is guilty of a capital crime for which one punishment is known to be death and a court's ability to impose that capital punishment, id., acts to protect the defendant from an automatic death sentence. Because of the unique context of this scheme, and because the statutes of conviction authorize a penalty of death, we hold that failure to allege the mental culpability and statutory aggravating factors in a capital defendant's original indictment does not violate the Fifth Amendment's Indictment Clause. See Walton, 497 U.S. at 648 (explaining that aggravating circumstances are not separate penalties or offenses but rather are 'standards to guide the making of the choice between the alternative verdicts of death and life imprisonment') (quoting Poland v. Arizona, 476 U.S. 147, 156 (1986)). 35
36 Allen argues that the district court erred in refusing to suppress the confession he gave to police on the morning of his arrest. Allen's primary assertion is that officers made no effort to comply with his request for counsel, and thus any statements made to the police after his request, including his confession, should have been suppressed because they were coerced in violation of the Fifth Amendment. 8 The government counters that Allen's admission was voluntarily made after a knowing and intelligent waiver of his Fifth Amendment rights. We first briefly recite the facts surrounding Allen's arrest, interrogation, and confession, based on the magistrate judge's findings which were adopted by the district court. (See Allen App., Vol. I at 114-80, 192-93.) 37 Allen was arrested at approximately 2:00 a.m. on the morning following the day of the bank robbery and was read his Miranda rights. See Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 479 (1966). Around 3:00 a.m. Allen was placed in an interrogation room, handcuffed to the table, advised again of his Miranda rights, and treated for his burns and injuries. Sometime between 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m., an FBI agent began questioning Allen after advising him, for the third time that morning, of his Miranda rights. Allen agreed to provide blood, hair, and saliva samples and then asked for counsel to be appointed to assist him. At that point, the questioning immediately ended. Allen was offered food and drink, which he declined, and officers fulfilled Allen's request for a towel for his eyes and that the lights be turned off. At approximately 8:00 a.m., a detective reminded Allen of his agreement earlier that morning to provide the blood, hair, and saliva samples, and asked Allen if, in light of his request for counsel, he still wished to provide the samples. Allen agreed to provide the samples and verified his decision in writing. Around 10:00 a.m., a detective asked Allen if he was willing to appear in a lineup. After being informed of his right to have counsel present at the lineup, Allen agreed to appear in the lineup without the presence of counsel. After the lineup was finished, detectives informed Allen of the results of the lineup--that three out of four eyewitnesses placed him at the scene of the crime the previous day--at which point Allen asked to speak with Lieutenant Henderson, an officer Allen knew from an earlier case. Prior to confessing to Henderson, Allen was reminded of his earlier request for counsel and again advised of his Miranda rights. Allen stated that he understood his right to counsel and that he wanted to talk to Henderson without counsel present. Allen then set up the ground rules for the discussion, including no written or signed statements and no video or tape recording, and then confessed to participating in the previous day's armed bank robbery. 38 On appeal, Allen does not challenge the district court's factual findings but rather the legal conclusion to be drawn from the facts, which we review de novo. See United States v. Looking, 156 F.3d 803, 809 (8th Cir. 1998). There is no doubt that Allen asserted his right to counsel shortly after custodial interrogation began and that counsel was not present at the time of his confession. Thus, we must decide whether Allen validly waived his previously invoked right to counsel. 39 Waivers of counsel must be voluntary and must constitute a knowing and intelligent relinquishment of a known right. See Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 482 (1981). This requires consideration of the particular facts and circumstances surrounding each case. Id. Under the Fifth Amendment, once an individual expresses a desire to deal with the police through counsel, the authorities may not subject him to further interrogation until counsel has been made available to him, unless the accused validly waives his right by initiating further communication with the police. Id. at 484-85. Interrogation includes express questioning or its functional equivalent, and the Supreme Court has further defined functional equivalent as any words or actions on the part of the police (other than those normally attendant to arrest and custody) that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect. Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 300-01 (1980). Determining whether particular statements or practices amount to interrogation depends on the circumstances of each case, particularly whether the statements are objectively and reasonably likely to result in incriminating responses by the suspect, as well as the nature of the police statements and the context in which they are given. See United States v. Payne, 954 F.2d 199, 202-03 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 503 U.S. 988 (1992). See also United States v. Jackson, 189 F.3d 502, 510-11 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 979 (1999). 40 We turn now to the particular circumstances surrounding Allen's request for counsel, alleged waiver, and confession. First, although Allen had earlier invoked his right to counsel, we hold that informing Allen of the results of the lineup did not amount to the functional equivalent of interrogation for purposes of the Fifth Amendment. It was a simple description of the status of the ongoing investigation which, according to the government, is a routine practice for suspects in custody in this particular jurisdiction. More importantly, it was not designed to, nor was it reasonably likely to, elicit an incriminating response from Allen. This was a statement of fact and not a plea to conscience. See Innis, 446 U.S. at 294-95, 302-03. Rather, the officer simply described the results of the lineup, unaccompanied by any threats or other compelling pressure. See Payne, 954 F.2d at 202 (stating that mere declaratory descriptions of incriminating evidence do not invariably constitute interrogation). Informing a suspect that he has been identified in a lineup contributes to the intelligent exercise of his judgment and may likely make firm his resolve to refuse to talk to the police without counsel. Id. Moreover, keeping a suspect informed of the progress of the investigation and the status of the charges against him should be encouraged rather than discouraged, so long as the communication is truthful, and is not designed, nor is it likely to elicit, an incriminating response. On these facts, therefore, we conclude that the officer's statement to Allen explaining the results of the lineup did not constitute interrogation. 41 After resolving the interrogation issue, we have little difficulty determining that Allen's subsequent self-initiated request to speak to Lieutenant Henderson amounted to a valid waiver of his right to counsel. Allen clearly initiated the request to speak with Lieutenant Henderson and knew full well his right to counsel and the consequences of foregoing that right. He had been informed of his right on prior, unrelated occasions and had indicated that he understood them. In addition to being given Miranda warnings four times earlier that morning and actually invoking his right to counsel after one of the warnings (which is strong evidence that Allen understood his rights), Allen was reminded of his request for counsel and given another explanation of his Fifth Amendment rights just prior to his confession. Moreover, Allen even set up the ground rules for his confession. We therefore conclude that Allen's waiver of his right to counsel was valid because it was knowing and intelligent, voluntarily given, and initiated by Allen, and therefore the district court did not err in denying Allen's motion to suppress the confession. See Holman v. Kemna, 212 F.3d 413, 418-21 (8th Cir.) (holding ultimately that there was no Edwards violation and that the waiver of counsel was valid because Holman did not confess until the next day and the totality of the circumstances showed that the confession was voluntary and knowing and intelligent), cert. denied, 121 S. Ct. 587 (2000). See also United States v. Williams, 136 F.3d 547, 552-53 (8th Cir. 1998) (holding admissible suspect's statement to police after being informed that he had been identified in a lineup, which the court assumed without deciding was interrogation for purposes of the appeal, because the statements were voluntarily made without any coercion and came after the suspect was given and validly waived his Miranda rights), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1003 (1999). 42 Finally, the fact that officers did not find counsel for Allen immediately after his request does not automatically result in a violation of his right to counsel. The officers scrupulously honored his right to remain silent and his invocation of the right to counsel by not interrogating him after he invoked these rights until Allen volunteered his confession. Miranda condemns the use of psychological ploys and staged lineups as attempts to elicit a confession, but not all statements obtained by the police are the product of interrogations. See Innis, 446 U.S. at 299. The length of time that elapses between a request for counsel and when counsel is actually supplied is simply one factor among many to be considered when determining whether a suspect's waiver was voluntarily given, and we disagree with Allen that the approximately seven hours that elapsed between his request for counsel and his voluntary confession, when viewed in light of all the facts that took place early that morning, resulted in an involuntary or improperly coerced confession under the Fifth Amendment. See United States v. McClinton, 982 F.2d 278, 282 (8th Cir. 1992) (explaining that [t]he appropriate test for determining the voluntariness of a confession is whether, in light of the totality of the circumstances, pressures exerted upon the suspect have overborne his will) (internal quotations and citations omitted). 43
44 Allen argues that his multiple sentences of life in prison and the death penalty for the same underlying offense violate his right to be free from double jeopardy. 9 Allen waived this issue by failing to preserve it for appeal, however, because he did not raise this argument in the district court prior to trial. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 12(b)(2) (requiring that defenses and objections based on defects in an indictment be raised before trial or they are waived); United States v. Prescott, 42 F.3d 1165, 1167 (8th Cir. 1994) (holding that failure to raise pretrial objection to alleged duplicitous counts in the indictment constitutes waiver of the defense); United States v. Shephard, 4 F.3d 647, 650 (8th Cir. 1993) (holding that Fed. R. Crim. P. 12(b)(2) requires that challenges based on multiplicitous counts in an indictment and related double-jeopardy problems be raised before trial or they are waived). Reviewing for plain error, we find none. See United States v. Sickinger, 179 F.3d 1091, 1092-93 (8th Cir. 1999) (reviewing a double jeopardy claim for plain error even though it was not raised in the district court); United States v. Jackson, 155 F.3d 942, 947 (8th Cir. 1998) (same). 45 In a single trial where separate and consecutive sentences are imposed for the same underlying circumstances, the Double Jeopardy Clause does no more than prevent a sentencing court from prescribing greater punishment than a legislature intended. See Missouri v. Hunter, 459 U.S. 359, 368 (1983). In the present case then, imposition of multiple punishments for the same underlying circumstances does not violate the Constitution as long as Congress intended it. See Albernaz v. United States, 450 U.S. 333, 344 (1981). Thus, we first consider whether the two statutes under which Allen was convicted and sentenced prohibit the same offense, and if so, whether there is a clear indication that Congress in fact intended multiple punishments for that offense. See Hunter, 459 U.S. at 367. If the offenses are not the same, and absent clear contrary legislative intent, there is no double jeopardy violation. See id. 46 The Supreme Court has consistently used the test from Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299 (1932), as the initial starting point for determining legislative intent. See Albernaz, 450 U.S. at 345 n.3 (explaining that the established test for determining whether two offenses are the'same offense' is the rule set forth in Blockburger). Under Blockburger, where the same act or transaction constitutes a violation of two distinct statutory provisions, the test to be applied to determine whether there are two offenses or one, is whether each provision requires proof of a fact which the other does not. Blockburger, 284 U.S. at 304. 47 Examining the two statutes at issue, it is clear from the face of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2113(a) and (e) (Count I) and 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1) and (j)(1) (Count II) that Count II requires proof of two facts which Count I does not--namely, that a firearm was used or carried during the commission of a violent crime and that a murder occurred by use of the firearm. The more difficult question is whether Count I requires proof of a different fact than Count II. It is not exactly clear how predicate offenses are to be treated for purposes of Blockburger. There is some indication from the Supreme Court that Blockburger is simply a rule of statutory construction which is neither intended nor designed to apply to the particular facts of a case. See Iannelli v. United States, 420 U.S. 770, 785 n.17 (1975) (explaining that if each offense requires proof of a fact the other does not, the Blockburger test is satisfied notwithstanding a substantial overlap in the proof offered to establish the crimes); Blockburger, 284 U.S. at 304 (finding that although both sections of the narcotics statute were violated by one sale, two offenses were committed because each section required proof of a fact the other did not). Looking solely at the elements of the offenses at issue here, Count I arguably is not the same offense as Count II because Count II does not require proof of a taking of bank property by force or violence or intimidation, but rather only proof of some underlying crime of violence which could be armed robbery or any other violent felony. 48 On the other hand, the Supreme Court has applied Blockburger by considering the nature of the underlying felony in a felony-murder indictment rather than based only on the elements of the statutes at issue. See Whalen v. United States, 445 U.S. 684, 694-95(1980) (finding that rape and killing in the course of a rape did not pass muster under the Blockburger test because rape was a lesser included offense). Under this interpretation of Blockburger, predicate offenses which form the basis of other statutory offenses would always fail the Blockburger test. In the present case, the underlying bank robbery satisfies the crime of violence element of §§ 924(c) and (j). By definition, therefore, there is no fact that must be proved in § 2113 that is different from the elements required to be proved for conviction under §§ 924(c) and (j). 10 49 In light of these conflicting views of how to apply the Blockburger test to two statutes where one can be a predicate offense for the other, we think it best to err on the side of leniency by finding that the Blockburger test has not been satisfied. However, we still must consider the ultimately dispositive question of whether Congress clearly intended to impose cumulative sentences for simultaneous violations of each of the statutes. See Hunter, 459 U.S. at 368 (reasoning that simply because two criminal statutes may proscribe the same conduct under the Blockburger test does not mean double jeopardy precludes cumulative punishment because courts cannot negate clearly expressed legislative intent). 50 We have repeatedly held that multiple prosecutions and cumulative sentences for bank robbery under § 2113 and for using a firearm pursuant to § 924(c) are clearly intended by Congress and thus permissible. See, e.g., United States v. McQuiston, 998 F.2d 627, 629 (8th Cir. 1993) (upholding defendant's sentence of 300 months for four armed robberies in violation of § 2113 and an additional four consecutive sentences of 120 months each for violating § 924(c) during the course of each of those robberies). Section 924(c) explicitly states that its punishment is to be imposed in addition to the punishment provided for such crime of violence. 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1) (1994). See also id. (nor shall the term of imprisonment imposed under this subsection run concurrently with any other term of imprisonment including that imposed for the crime of violence... in which the firearm was used or carried). This language leaves no doubt that Congress intended to impose multiple, cumulative punishments under § 924(c). 51 Allen argues that § 924(j) should be construed independently of § 924(c) because it does not contain the same in addition to language, the legislative history suggests Congress only intended to authorize the death penalty for violation of § 924(j) if the death penalty was not already authorized for the underlying violent offense, and any ambiguity must be resolved in favor of a defendant based on the rule of lenity. We respectfully reject Allen's contentions. First, § 924(j) expressly incorporates § 924(c) and requires a violation of § 924(c) prior to imposition of the penalties set forth in § 924(j). Thus, § 924(j) cannot be read independently from the context of the punishment scheme set out in § 924(c). Although § 924(j) does not explicitly contain the same express mandatory cumulative punishment language as found in § 924(c), it incorporates § 924(c) by reference without disclaiming the cumulative punishment scheme which is so clearly set out in § 924(c). 52 Second, when read in context of the criminal scheme set forth in § 924(c), we think § 924(j) is fairly interpreted as an additional aggravating punishment for the scheme already set out in § 924(c). We reach this conclusion because of § 924(j)'s explicit reference to § 924(c) and because each subsection of the statute is designed for the same purpose--to impose steeper penalties on those criminals who use firearms when engaging in crimes of violence. Moreover, Allen's proposed interpretation of § 924(j) would lead to the odd result that a defendant convicted under § 924(c) is subject to an additional consecutive sentence only in situations that do not result in a death caused by use of the firearm. We think it unlikely that Congress, which clearly intended to impose additional cumulative punishments for using firearms during violent crimes in cases where no murder occurs, would turn around and not intend to impose cumulative punishments in cases where there are actual murder victims. 53 Third, §§ 2113(a) and (e) and §§ 924(c) and (j) were clearly designed for different purposes: the armed robbery statute was designed to punish those who take money from banks by force or violence, whatever the means, and the firearm statute was designed to punish those who use or carry firearms during violent crimes, whatever the underlying crime. 54 We therefore conclude, notwithstanding our assumption of the likely failure of the two statutes to pass the Blockburger test, that Congress fully and clearly intended to permit cumulative punishments for violations of § 2113 and § 924(j). See United States v. Kragness, 830 F.2d 842, 864 (8th Cir. 1987) (holding that Congress intended to allow multiple punishments for RICO conspiracies and conspiracies to commit the underlying predicate offense even though the offenses were the same under the Blockburger test). We also reject Allen's proposed reliance on the rule of lenity because Congress's intent is quite clear and not ambiguous. Based on the foregoing reasons, the district court did not commit plain error under the Fifth Amendment's double jeopardy protections by submitting Counts I and II to the jury or by imposing separate sentences after Allen's conviction on each count. 55 Allen also argues that his double exposure to a sentence of death for one underlying crime unduly emphasized the death penalty to the jury and impermissibly skewed the deliberative process in favor of a death sentence in violation of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment and the Fifth Amendment's due process right to a fair trial. We again respectfully disagree. Even if Allen's argument is a valid claim under the Eighth Amendment, a matter which we do not reach, we find that Allen has not shown that the scales of justice were skewed in favor of a death sentence. The jury instructions did not unduly emphasize the death sentence option over life in prison, and the instructions made it clear to the jury that they were supposed to evaluate each charged count separately and independently. Given that the jury returned different sentences under each count, there is little doubt the jury followed its instructions. Allen speculates that the reason the jury returned a sentence of death on Count II was that the jury must have been so overwhelmed by having to make two separate weighings of all the mitigating and aggravating circumstances such that the mitigation evidence must not have survived the second weighing. A more plausible and principled explanation for the jury's decision on Count II is that the evidence shows that Allen was far more culpable for the firearm count than the armed bank robbery count. The jury most likely found that Allen was primarily responsible for firing the shots that killed Richard Heflin, and, given Holder's leadership in planning, preparing, and instigating the bank robbery, that Allen was less culpable for committing the bank robbery. Thus, we find little evidence to support Allen's contention that the submission of two separate death-versus-life-in-prison decisions to the jury violated Allen's constitutional rights. See, e.g., United States v. McVeigh, 153 F.3d 1166, 1176 (10th Cir. 1998) (upholding Timothy McVeigh's eleven sentences of death as a result of his conduct and convictions for the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1007 (1999).
56 Allen asserts that the district court committed numerous errors during the trial, each of which allegedly warrants this court granting him a new trial or a new sentencing. We address each of his contentions in order, and as explained below, conclude that none of the asserted district court errors entitle Allen to a new trial or a new sentencing. 57
58 Allen asserts that the district court abused its discretion in denying Allen's motion for a continuance of the trial after Allen's mitigation expert quit ten days prior to trial with little of his work done. The facts are as follows. The government filed its notice of intent to seek the death penalty on August 8, 1997. Defense counsel hired a mitigation expert in early September. On October 15, Allen's case was set for trial on February 9, 1998. On January 12, 1998, the original mitigation expert informed defense counsel that he could not fulfill his obligations. Defense counsel hired a new mitigation expert on January 15 who started working on Allen's mitigation defense on January 16. Allen filed his motion for continuance on January 29, requesting that the trial be delayed for 120 days in order to prepare adequately the mitigation evidence for use during sentencing. The district court denied the motion for a continuance on the grounds that substantial work had been completed on Allen's mitigation defense and that sufficient time remained to finish preparations. Jury selection began on February 9, trial commenced on February 17, the sentencing began on March 2, and Allen presented his mitigation evidence from March 3 to March 6. 59 We review rulings on requests for continuances under the following standard: 60 District courts are afforded broad discretion when ruling on requests for continuances. Continuances generally are not favored and should be granted only when the party requesting one has shown a compelling reason. We will reverse a district court's decision to deny a motion for continuance only if the court abused its discretion and the moving party was prejudiced by the denial. 61 United States v. Cotroneo, 89 F.3d 510, 514 (8th Cir.) (citations omitted), cert. Denied, 519 U.S. 1018 (1996). Abuse of discretion is determined by looking at the particular circumstances of the case. United States v. Ware, 890 F.2d 1008, 1010 (8th Cir. 1989) (citing Ungar v. Sarafite, 376 U.S. 575, 589 (1964)). Our review of the circumstances of this case convinces us that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Allen's request for a continuance. 62 The replacement mitigation expert had worked on Allen's case for two weeks prior to the continuance request, and at the time the motion for the continuance was filed he had over four weeks left to prepare Allen's sentencing defense. In addition, the defense never renewed its motion for a continuance at the start of the penalty phase. Thus, the evidence supports the district court's finding that the defense had sufficient time to prepare an adequate mitigation defense. 63 Furthermore, the defendant has failed to show any specific prejudice resulting from the denial of his request for a continuance. Allen's mitigation evidence consisted of three days of testimony, totaling over nine hundred pages of transcript, and involved thirty-six witnesses testifying on Allen's behalf in support of four statutory mitigating factors and twenty-two non-statutory mitigating factors. Allen does not point to any specific mitigation evidence that he was deprived of presenting to the jury due to the district court's denial of his request for a continuance. See Walls v. Bowersox, 151 F.3d 827, 836 (8th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1071 (1999). In fact, on the basis of the evidence presented, the jurors were able to identify three additional mitigating factors which they considered during deliberations. 64 Allen argues general prejudice on the basis that there was not overwhelming evidence in support of the jury's decision to sentence Allen to death on Count II, given the jury's decision not to impose a sentence of death on Count I. We disagree. There was overwhelming evidence that Allen was responsible for firing all or at least most of the shots that killed the security guard, which is more than enough to support the jury's finding that the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating factors thus warranting a sentence of death. We therefore need not address the question of whether Allen had a compelling reason for requesting a continuance of the trial (no explanation was ever given for the delay in discovering the nonperformance of the original mitigation expert), because we find neither an abuse of discretion by the district court nor any prejudice as a result. 65
66 Allen argues, based on Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), that his due process rights to a fair trial were violated by the government's failure to disclose that two government eyewitnesses--Betty Thompson and William Green--would testify at trial inconsistently with previous statements attributed to them as contained in FBI reports, and that the district court therefore abused its discretion in denying Allen's motion for a mistrial or to strike some of the witnesses' testimony. We will affirm a district court's decision denying a request for a mistrial unless we find an abuse of discretion resulting in clear prejudice to the defendant. United States v. Rhodenizer, 106 F.3d 222, 225 (8th Cir. 1997) (internal quotations omitted). See United States v. Wadlington, 233 F.3d 1067, 1077 (8th Cir. 2000); see also United States v. Ryan, 153 F.3d 708, 711 (8th Cir. 1998)(applying the same standard to denial of motion for new trial based on Brady violation allegations), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1064 (1999). In order to establish a Brady violation, a defendant must show that the government suppressed exculpatory evidence material either to guilt or punishment. See Ryan, 153 F.3d at 711. 67 Evidence is material under Brady if there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome. However, materiality is not established through the mere possibility that the suppressed evidence might have influenced the jury. 68 Id. at 712 (internal quotations and citations omitted). 69 We agree with the district court that there has been no Brady violation. First, the witnesses' expected trial testimony was not Brady evidence because the witnesses testified at trial and the defense was provided with the necessary impeachment evidence (in this case the FBI reports). See United States v. Gonzales, 90 F.3d 1363, 1368 (8th Cir. 1996) (noting that Brady is not violated by a delay in disclosing evidence so long as the evidence is disclosed during trial). Second, Allen has not shown that the change in testimony satisfies the element of materiality. The statements of witnesses Thompson and Green were inconsistent only as to the issue of whether the driver or the passenger was carrying the bag of money as the two defendants reentered the van after the robbery. Whether Holder or Allen carried the bag, however, has almost no probative value as to whether Allen was guilty of the charged offenses, and has only some probative value as to who actually shot Heflin, which was relevant to the jury's sentencing decision. Moreover, the other evidence convincingly showed that Allen actually did most of the shooting. In short, our confidence in the jury's verdict as a result of any delayed disclosure of the negligibly exculpatory information is not at all undermined, because earlier disclosure of the information would have had no effect on the outcome of the jury's verdict. 70 Nor do we find any clear prejudice. The prosecutor expressly stated during opening argument that witness Green was going to testify that the driver was carrying the bag, which was contrary to Green's statement to the FBI. (See Trial Tr., Vol. VI at 52 (A few moments later [Mr. Green] saw two men run to the van, the driver carrying a bag, both men carrying what looked to him to be long-barreled weapons.).) Given that there is little doubt that Holder was the driver of the van, the prosecutor's remarks during his opening statement alerted defense counsel to the inconsistency between witness Green's prior statements and his expected trial testimony. Moreover, defense counsel had the necessary impeachment material--the FBI reports--and we agree with the district court that defense counsel did a very effective job of using the inconsistencies to impeach the credibility and accuracy of Green's trial testimony. (See Trial Tr., Vol. VIII at 198.) Thus, not only did defense counsel have notice of the inconsistency between Green's statements to the FBI and his testimony at trial, but counsel also had and effectively used the FBI report during cross-examination to impeach Green's testimony. Finally, defense counsel never asked for a continuance to deal with Green's allegedly surprising and prejudicial change in testimony, and never even raised an objection at the time Thompson's change in testimony was discovered. Based on these circumstances, we do not find any clear prejudice to Allen. We therefore reject Allen's contention that the district court abused its discretion in denying Allen's request for a mistrial because there was no Brady violation by the government and there was no clear prejudice to Allen. 71
72 Allen asserts that the district court erred in ordering him to undergo a psychiatric examination by a government-selected psychiatrist without a full protective order and in allowing a prosecutor to violate the terms of the court's partial protective order. We find no constitutional error and therefore reject both claims. 73 There is no doubt that a district court has the authority to order a defendant who states that he will use evidence from his own psychiatric examination in the penalty phase of a trial to undergo a psychiatric examination by a government-selected psychiatrist before the start of the penalty phase. See United States v. Webster, 162 F.3d 308, 338-40 (5th Cir. 1998) (holding that a district court possesses the inherent power to order a psychiatric examination based on 18 U.S.C. § 3593(c), which requires that the government be given a fair opportunity to rebut any of defendant's mitigating evidence, and Fed.R.Crim.P. 12, which allows a court-ordered psychiatric examination during similar circumstances in the guilt phase of trials), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 829 (1999). See also Estelle v. Smith, 451 U.S. 454, 466 n.10, 472 (1981) (leaving open the possibility, without deciding it, that a defendant can be precluded from using psychiatric evidence during the penalty phase if he does not also consent to a prosecution-selected psychiatrist). The government must be able to put on a fair rebuttal to a defendant's mitigation evidence during sentencing. Here, the district court allowed one assistant prosecutor to begin evaluating the results of the government's psychiatric examination prior to the sentencing phase under an order to not divulge any of the results to the rest of the prosecution team until after the completion of the guilt phase. 11 This partial protective order is legally and constitutionally sufficient because, as explained by the Fifth Circuit, a defendant is adequately protected under the Constitution from impermissible early introduction of the fruits of a government psychiatric examination under a scheme wherein the defendant has the burden of producing some evidence of taint, and the government has the ultimate burden of persuading the court that the evidence is not tainted. United States v. Hall, 152 F.3d 381, 399 (5th Cir. 1998) (citing Alderman v. United States, 394 U.S. 165, 183(1969)), cert. denied, 526 U.S. 1117 (1999), abrogated on other grounds by United States v. Martinez-Salizar, 528 U.S. 304, 317 (2000). Additional prophylactic safeguards beyond this evidentiary framework, such as the sealing of exam results until after the completion of the guilt phase, as the court did in United States v. Beckford, 962 F. Supp. 748, 761 (E.D. Va. 1997), may avoid later litigation but are not constitutionally required. See Hall, 152 F.3d at 399. We therefore decline to adopt any such rigid prophylactic rule in the name of the Constitution and leave the matter to the discretion of district courts, subject only to our review for abuse of discretion, which we do not find present in this case. 74 As for Allen's allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, after a careful review of the record we find neither a breach of the district court's protective order nor any prejudice to Allen during the guilt phase had the prosecutor's comments been a breach. The government requested that the entire prosecution team be allowed to review the results of the court-ordered psychiatrist's interview with Allen before the end of the trial so that they could begin researching possible defenses Allen might raise. The Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) designated to receive the results of the court-ordered psychiatrist's interview with Allen made the following statement in open court, without the jury present, in response to Allen's assertion that the results should continue to be excluded from the entire prosecution team because they might be used against him during the guilt phase of the trial: 75 There really isn't anything in any of these reports that would prejudice the defendant if the prosecution team was made aware of them prior to the beginning of the penalty phase. In fact, Mr. Allen does not seem to discuss the offense or wasn't even asked about the offense with either one of the physicians that were chosen by the defense and there was no discussion of it with the court-appointed psychiatrist beyond Mr. Allen's maintaining that he wasn't there, so there isn't anything in these reports that could be exploited in the guilt phase of any type that I can see. 76 (Trial Tr., Vol. X at 2-3.) 77 Allen argues that the AUSA's disclosure, in the presence of other members of the prosecution team, of Allen's statement to the government psychiatrist that Allen was not present at the armed bank robbery is a violation of the court's protective order and a structural defect in the trial. We disagree. While the defense did express the view that the Chinese wall had been breached, it did not raise a formal objection at the time the comment was made, and the district court's failure to take any action sua sponte in response to the comment or to the allegation that its order had been violated, makes clear that it did not consider it to be a violation of the order. We see no violation either because the defendant had denied being present at the armed robbery as early as July 25, 1997, in his Notice of Intent to Rely Upon Defense of Alibis, so the prosecution team was already on notice from Allen himself that Allen might argue an I wasn't there defense. Thus, the AUSA's disclosure had little, if any, impact on the prosecution's presentation of evidence, and for that reason, even if the AUSA's disclosure was a technical violation of the court's protective order, Allen was certainly not prejudiced by the disclosure. 78 We also reject Allen's assertion that the disclosure effectively precluded or chilled him from exercising his right to testify at trial because he was afraid that all of the examination results had been disclosed to the entire prosecution team. The defendant could have taken the stand and still have protected his Fifth Amendment rights by alleging specific violations of the court's protective order if the government appeared to be improperly using information from the psychiatric examination. The decision was made to forego this protection, and on appeal Allen points to no specific improper uses of the results or contents of the psychiatric examination during the guilt phase of the trial. We therefore hold that the AUSA's disclosure does not, as Allen argues, rise to the level of a structural error (which he argues requires no showing of prejudice), nor do we find any abuse of discretion by the district court or prejudice to Allen with respect to the court-ordered psychiatric examination and partial protective order. 79
80 Allen argues that government prosecutors made improper and prejudicial statements during the penalty phase which rendered the jury's sentencing decision fundamentally unfair. Specifically, Allen points to three allegedly improper statements: (1) a direct reference to Allen as a murderous dog during closing arguments; (2) a statement saying don't let him down there dribbling basketballs on Richard Heflin's grave during closing arguments; and (3) a question to one of Allen's witnesses about whether the blue color of his clothing signified his association with any gang. Allen argues that, given the fact that he is an African-American, each of these statements was designed to appeal to racial fears and prejudices of jury members in order to secure a death sentence, and that it did have this improper effect. Our standard of review is as follows: 81 We afford the district court broad discretion in controlling closing arguments, overturning the lower court only when it clearly abuses its discretion. We examine prosecutorial remarks to determine, first, whether the remarks were in fact improper, and if so, whether, in the context of the entire trial, the remarks prejudicially affected [the defendant's] substantial rights, so as to deprive [him] of a fair trial. 82 United States v. Cannon, 88 F.3d 1495, 1502 (8th Cir. 1996) (internal quotations and citations omitted). See also Darden v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 168, 181 (1986) ([I]t is not enough that the prosecutors' remarks were undesirable or even universally condemned. The relevant question is whether the prosecutors' comments so infected the trial with unfairness as to make the resulting conviction a denial of due process.) (internal quotations and citations omitted). 83 We first address whether the prosecutor's statements were in fact improper. Given the context surrounding the statements, we are convinced that neither the basketball comment nor the gang reference was improper. The basketball reference was made after several of Allen's own mitigation witnesses, such as his middle school basketball coach and relatives, testified that Allen enjoyed playing basketball, and therefore later reference to it by the prosecution was not improper. (See, e.g., Trial Tr., Vol. XV at 130, 167.) The gang affiliation question came up during cross-examination of one of Allen's witnesses in the context of determining, as alleged in one of the mitigating factors, whether Allen was a follower. The prosecutor's questions were directed at discovering whether either Allen or the witness or both were ever involved in gang activity, and we find nothing wrong with the questions because they were relevant to and in response to the mitigating factors presented by Allen, which indicated he grew up surrounded by gang factions. Furthermore, in the circumstances of this case, we find that the prosecutor's statements--both the basketball comment and the gang affiliation questions--were not intended nor did they have the effect of appealing to racial fears or to any prejudices of the jurors. 84 The characterization of Allen as a murderous dog presents a closer question. The comment was made in response to one of Allen's proposed non-statutory mitigating factors, which portrayed Allen as a likeable, gentle, lighthearted person who was not considered aggressive or violent. 12 (Allen's App. at 405.) During closing argument, moreover, Allen's counsel made the assertion that the prosecution [c]ouldn't find a single person to say [Allen] was violent. (Trial Tr., Vol. XIX at 77.) In rebuttal closing argument, the prosecutor responded as follows: 85 How about the mitigator that you're going to see on that verdict form that this defendant is a gentle, lighthearted, likable person? He's considered those things, okay? That's important. It says he's considered kind, gentle, and lighthearted. He's not considered violent or aggressive. Richard Heflin didn't think this guy with the mask, armed for war, armed to kill, was kind, lighthearted, or gentle. He thought he was a murderous dog coming in there to kill people for money. That's what Richard Heflin thought. And remember when you are back there deliberating, the last thing Richard Heflin ever saw was these two come in and start blazing at him, blow him down - and the terrible irony is he survived Vietnam, survived Vietnam, managed to live through having to fight people with guns just like that, and he's killed at High Point in St. Louis City on St. Patrick's day, that is a terrible irony. 86 (Trial Tr., Vol. XIX at 105-06.) Although we find no improper appeal to racial fears or prejudice in the above statement, we do find that the reference to Allen as being a murderous dog is inappropriate and improper. See Darden, 477 U.S. at 179-80 (finding it improper to characterize the defendant as an animal). 87 We will not, however, reverse a sentence on the basis of improper prosecutorial statements unless those statements are prejudicial enough to deprive a defendant of his constitutional rights to a fair penalty phase hearing. At the outset, we reject Allen's contention that in a capital case there is greater protection under the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause 13 for a fair penalty phase hearing than there is for a fair trial. In determining whether Allen has received a fair penalty phase hearing, we therefore adopt the same standard set out by the Supreme Court and this court in determining whether a defendant has received a fair trial under the Constitution despite improper prosecutorial comments during trial. See, e.g., Darden, 477 U.S. at 181 (holding that [t]he relevant question is whether the prosecutor's comments so infected the trial with unfairness as to make the resulting conviction a denial of due process); Cannon, 88 F.3d at 1502 (outlining a three-factor test to help determine, in the context of the trial as a whole, whether a defendant has been deprived of a fair trial, including the cumulative effect of any misconduct, the strength of the properly admitted evidence of guilt, and any remedial actions taken by the trial court). 88 Although we find that the prosecutor's reference to Allen as a murderous dog was improper, we have little difficulty in deciding that in this case Allen was not deprived of his constitutional right to a fair sentencing. First, the comment was made only once and did not manipulate or misstate the evidence. See Mack v. Caspari, 92 F.3d 637, 643 (8th Cir. 1996) (finding despite numerous references to the defendant as a killer that the entire trial was not so fundamentally unfair as to amount to a deprivation of due process, in part because the prosecutor's statements did not manipulate or misstate the evidence), cert. denied, 520 U.S. 1109 (1997). Although it is possible that one isolated comment can result in the denial of a defendant's due process right to a fair trial or sentencing, the lack of any cumulative effect of more than one improper comment is certainly a strong indication that the sentencing was not fundamentally unfair. Second, the evidence is essentially overwhelming that Allen fired the shots from the Chinese SKS that killed Richard Heflin, which helps explain why the jury imposed a death sentence for the firearm conviction and a life sentence for Allen's armed robbery conviction (the evidence shows that Holder was primarily responsible for initiating and planning the armed robbery). Thus, if the prosecutor's improper statement was as emotionally prejudicial as Allen claims, we think it likely that the jury would have returned a sentence of death on both counts, so the fact that the jury returned a sentence of life in prison for the armed robbery conviction is strong evidence that its decisions were not based on passion. Third, the trial court was not called upon to take any curative actions because the defendant never objected to the remark, and the experienced trial judge did not intervene sua sponte, a decision we do not find to be error of any kind. The court did instruct the jury to make its decision based only on the evidence and that statements by the lawyers were not evidence. This is sufficient in the absence of an objection. Id. at 643-44. 89 We also reject Allen's argument that the murderous dog reference, in combination with telling the story through the eyes of the victim, makes the statement unduly prejudicial. No undue prejudice arises from reminding the jury to consider the murder victim's perspective where the defendant has asserted a gentle spirit and accused the government of being unable to produce any witness to testify that the defendant was violent. For these reasons, we conclude that Allen's penalty phase was not unfairly prejudiced by the prosecutor's murderous dog reference, and therefore he was not denied his due process right to a fair sentencing. See Darden, 477 U.S. at 180-81 (finding during habeas review of a death penalty conviction that the defendant was not deprived of his right to a fair trial despite the prosecutor's references to the defendant as an animal that shouldn't be out of his cell unless he has a leash on him); Kellogg v. Skon, 176 F.3d 447, 451-52 (8th Cir. 1999) (finding in criminal sexual abuse case that defendant did not receive a fundamentally unfair trial even though the prosecutor referred to him as a monster, sexual deviant, and liar); Pollard v. Delo, 28 F.3d 887, 890 (8th Cir. 1994) (finding that repeated references to the defendant as a predator were not so prejudicial as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial). 90
91 Allen argues that the district court erred in overruling his motion to limit the quantity of victim impact evidence introduced by the government during the sentencing phase, and that this decision ultimately led to a violation of his Eighth Amendment rights because the government was allowed to present too much victim impact evidence. We normally review evidentiary decisions under an abuse of discretion standard. See United States v. Martin, 180 F.3d 965, 966 (8th Cir. 1999). In this case, however, Allen failed to raise an objection to any of the victim impact testimony. Although Allen filed a motion to limit the government's evidence before any of it was introduced, in denying the motion the district court made it quite clear that it would be necessary to raise objections later in order to preserve the issue for appeal. The district court stated the following: 92 The parties will note that motions in limine are advisory only, that is orders in limine are advisory only. The parties will be required to make appropriate objections or offers of proof at the proper time during the trial to protect their respective positions.... The Court will consider victim impact [testimony] as it is presented. I have no way of knowing at this time precisely what it will be. Parties understand the statutory scheme which provides for the impact testimony and also the body of concept of cases dealing on that subject and neither -- and the government should not go beyond the bounds of either the statute or the case law. 93 (Trial Tr., Vol. XIV at 34-36.) 94 Due to Allen's failure to raise any objections during the sentencing phase to the victim impact testimony, we review Allen's claim for plain error. Thus, Allen 95 must therefore show that the error was plain, meaning clear or obvious; and [that] the error affected [his] substantial rights, which requires a showing that the error was prejudicial and affected the trial's outcome. Even clear errors will only matter if a miscarriage of justice would otherwise result that might seriously affect the fairness, integrity or public reputation of the judicial proceedings. 96 United States v. Tulk, 171 F.3d 596, 599 (8th Cir. 1999) (citing United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 733-35 (1993)) (alterations in original) (internal quotations and citations omitted). 97 First, it is clear from both the FDPA and Supreme Court precedent that the government is allowed to present and a jury is allowed to consider victim impact evidence in reaching its sentencing decision in a capital case. The FDPA provides for the submission of aggravating factors that may concern the effect of the offense on the victim and the victim's family, and may include oral testimony, a victim impact statement identifying the victim and the loss suffered by the victim and the victim's family, and any other relevant information. 18 U.S.C. § 3593(a)(2). Likewise, the Supreme Court has ruled that the Eighth Amendment permits capital sentencing juries to consider evidence relating to the victim's personal characteristics and the emotional impact of the murder on the victim's family in deciding whether an eligible defendant should receive a death sentence. Jones v. United States, 527 U.S. 373, 395 (1999) (citing Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808, 827 (1991)). See Payne, 501 U.S. at 830-31 (explaining that the Eighth Amendment does not bar a jury from considering the full extent of the harm caused by the crime, including its impact on the victim's family and community or from seeing a quick glimpse of the life petitioner chose to extinguish to remind the jury that the person whose life was taken was a unique human being, and further explaining that a defendant may still seek relief under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment [i]f, in a particular case, a witness' testimony or a prosecutor's remark so infects the sentencing proceeding as to render it fundamentally unfair)(internal quotations and citations omitted)(O'Connor, J., concurring). 98 Second, there is little, if any, danger of undue prejudice due to victim impact evidence under the FDPA if a jury, as in this case, fails to even find the existence of the victim-impact aggravating factor. (See Trial Tr., Vol. XIX at 123, 132.) This is because the FDPA prohibits a jury from considering, in the final weighing of aggravating and mitigating circumstances, any aggravating factor which the jury did not find unanimously beyond a reasonable doubt. See 18 U.S.C. § 3593(d), (e). The instructions to the jury were clear on this point, and unless a jury disregards its instructions, which we do not and cannot presume, there can be no prejudice. See Francis v. Franklin, 471 U.S. 307, 325 n.9 (1985)([a]bsent [] extraordinary situations, however, we adhere to the crucial assumption underlying our constitutional system of trial by jury that jurors carefully follow instructions); United States v. Delpit, 94 F.3d 1134, 1144 (8th Cir. 1996). 99 Third, although the jury did not find the existence of the victim-impact aggravating factor, which is strong evidence of and in most cases will be sufficient to make a ruling of no undue prejudice, we will nevertheless consider the possibility that the evidence may have been so prejudicial as to violate the Due Process Clause. Our review of the record, however, convinces us that no such violation occurred. The government's evidence of victim impact consisted of testimony from eleven witnesses, including Richard Heflin's mother, one sister, one brother, two bank co-workers, one former co-worker, his former wife (and mother of his three sons), each of his three sons, and his widow (who had married Heflin approximately seven months prior to his death). The testimony from these witnesses lasted less than a day and took up only eighty-eight pages of transcript. In comparison, the entire penalty phase transcript takes up over seventeen hundred pages, and the testimony from Allen's penalty phase witnesses took up over nine hundred pages. Furthermore, Allen could have objected to any specific testimony that he thought was unduly prejudicial, and he could have raised an objection if he believed the amount of testimony had become unduly prejudicial. For tactical reasons, such objections could have been lodged at a side bar conference outside of the jury's hearing. No objections were raised, however, and on appeal Allen makes no allegations that any specific testimony was unduly prejudicial. Our own review of the record convinces us that neither the amount nor the scope and nature of the victim-impact testimony was unduly prejudicial. 100 For all of the above stated reasons, we find that the district court did not commit any error, much less plain error, in its decision to deny Allen's motion in limine at the outset of the sentencing hearing and later to permit all of the government's victim impact evidence to come into the record without objection. 101
102 Allen argues that the district court erred in failing to submit to the jury his tendered mercy instruction which would have informed the jury that they never are required to impose a sentence of death. When reviewing a challenge to the jury instructions, we recognize that the district court has wide discretion in formulating the instructions and [we] will affirm if the entire charge to the jury, when read as a whole, fairly and adequately contains the law applicable to the case. United States v. Phelps, 168 F.3d 1048, 1057 (8th Cir. 1999) (citing United States v. Casas, 999 F.2d 1225, 1230 (8th Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 1078 (1994)). 103 Our review of the instructions given to the jury convinces us that the district court committed no error in fairly and adequately presenting the applicable law. The relevant portions of the district court's instructions to the jury were as follows: 104 Again, whether or not the circumstances in this case justify a sentence of death is a decision that the law leaves entirely to you.... If you unanimously conclude that the aggravating factor or factors found to exist sufficiently outweigh all the mitigating factor or factors found to exist to justify a sentence of death... you shall record your determination that death is justified in Section 6A of the special verdict form for each count of the indictment. 105 (Instr. No. 8, Trial Tr., Vol. XIX at 37-38.) The district court also instructed the jury that, [a]t the end of your deliberations, if you determine that Billie Jerome Allen should be sentenced to death or to life imprisonment without possibility of release, the Court is required to impose that sentence. (Instr. No. 9, id. at 39.) 106 We think these instructions accurately explain the jury's role in sentencing under the FDPA, which reads as follows: 107 [T]he defendant... shall be sentenced to death if, after consideration of the factors set forth in section 3592 [delineating possible aggravating and mitigating circumstances] in the course of a hearing held pursuant to section 3593, it is determined that imposition of a sentence of death is justified.... 108 18 U.S.C. § 3591(a)(2) (emphasis added). In § 3593, entitled Special hearing to determine whether a sentence of death is justified, the FDPA states the following: 109 [T]he jury... shall consider whether all the aggravating factor or factors found to exist sufficiently outweigh all the mitigating factor or factors found to exist to justify a sentence of death.... Based upon this consideration, the jury by unanimous vote... shall recommend whether the defendant should be sentenced to death, to life imprisonment without possibility of release or some other lesser sentence. 110 18 U.S.C. § 3593(e) (emphasis added). Based upon the plain language of the statute, once a jury makes a final, unanimous determination that a sentence of death is justified, then the FDPA requires its imposition. See 18 U.S.C. § 3594 (requiring that once a recommendation of death or life imprisonment is made, the court shall sentence the defendant accordingly). 111 Allen argues that the language in § 3593(e) requires a jury to make two decisions--first, whether a sentence of death is justified and second, whether a sentence of death should actually be imposed. Although § 3593(e) could lend itself to this interpretation when read in isolation, we reject this interpretation as inconsistent with the Act as a whole. 14 See Harmon Indus., Inc. v. Browner, 191 F.3d 894, 900 (8th Cir. 1999) (noting that we apply common sense meaning to the text of statutes and interpret provisions in a manner logically consistent with the Act as a whole). Allen's two-decision interpretation of § 3593(e) would allow the jurors to disregard a unanimous determination that a sentence of death is justified. We conclude that such an interpretation contradicts the language of § 3591(a)(2), stating that a defendant shall be sentenced to death if the fact finder determines that a sentence of death is justified after weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances. To consistently harmonize the two sections, we must read § 3593(e) as specifying the jury's options within this framework. We already know from § 3591(a)(2) that a unanimous finding that death is justified requires a recommendation of a death sentence. The jury's remaining options, then (life imprisonment without possibility of release or some other lesser sentence), are only valid options for the jury to recommend if the balancing process favors the mitigating factors and does not justify a sentence of death. 112 Thus, we read the requirement in § 3593(e) that the jury recommend by unanimous vote the sentence to be imposed to be a procedural mechanism to record the jury's findings, first on the question of whether a death sentence is justified, and if not, then on whether the sentence should be life in prison or some other sentence imposed by the court. We do not read § 3593(e) as requiring from the jury a second, substantive determination regarding a sentence of death once it decides that a sentence of death is indeed justified. 113 In another context, the Controlled Substances Act, Congress clearly has provided that the jury regardless of its findings with respect to aggravating and mitigating factors, is never required to impose a death sentence. 21 U.S.C. § 848(k) (requiring the jury to be instructed in this manner). This language would explicitly allow the jury to make the second, substantive determination that Allen seeks. No similar language exists in the FDPA, however, and we are not permitted to legislate this language into the Act ourselves, particularly in light of the contrary language explained above which already exists in the FDPA. 114 Under the FDPA, the jury exercises complete discretion in its determination of whether the aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating factors. The jury was informed that whether or not the circumstances justify a sentence of death was a decision left entirely to them. Mercy is not precluded from entering into the balance of whether the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstances. The FDPA merely precludes the jurors from arbitrarily disregarding its unanimous determination that a sentence of death is justified. See Johnson v. Texas, 509 U.S. 350, 371-72 (1993) (explaining that 'it would be very difficult to reconcile a rule allowing the fate of a defendant to turn on the vagaries of particular jurors' emotional sensitivities with our longstanding recognition that, above all, capital sentencing must be reliable, accurate, and non-arbitrary') (quoting Saffle v. Parks, 494 U.S. 484, 493 (1990)); Saffle, 494 U.S. at 493 (stating that the government must not cut off full and fair consideration of mitigating evidence; but it need not grant the jury the choice to make the sentencing decision according to its own whims or caprice). Congress is free to pass a statute which confines arguments of mercy to the jury's consideration of mitigating circumstances and in its final determination of whether the aggravating factors sufficiently outweigh the mitigating factors. We also note that Allen was not prohibited from urging the jury to be merciful in its deliberations and in its consideration of asserted mitigating factors. The district court stated as follows: 115 There will be no ruling by the Court that mercy is a factor that cannot be considered. Certainly jury nullification cannot be argued nor any argument permitted beyond a statutory scheme. So there's no doubt about it, the defense will not be precluded from arguing that the jury may be merciful in its deliberations. 116 (Trial Tr., Vol. XIX at 22-23.) For these reasons, we conclude that the instructions given in this case adequately state the law and that the district court did not abuse its discretion by rejecting Allen's proposed mercy instruction. 117 Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3595(c)(1), we have addressed all of the substantive and procedural issues raised by Billie Jerome Allen's appeal from the sentence of death. We have also considered whether his sentence of death was imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor and conclude that it was not so imposed. We further have carefully considered whether the evidence supports the jury's special findings of the existence of the aggravating factors, both statutory and non-statutory, which the jury found to exist, and we conclude that the evidence is more than sufficient to support the jury's special findings.