Opinion ID: 1913318
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 39

Heading: did the prosecutor lessen the jury's responsibility for determining holland's sentence?

Text: ¶ 173. Holland claims the prosecutor erred by stating that the prosecution expect[ed] you [the jury] to do the right thing. In addition, in response to defense counsel's assertion that the jury would always remember Holland if they voted for death, the prosecutor stated the jury would remember that you did your duty to the community. The United States Supreme Court stated such comments have no place in the administration of justice, but also found such errors harmless under the circumstances. United States v. Young, 470 U.S. 1, 18, 105 S.Ct. 1038, 1047-48, 84 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985). Courts reviewing this question have agreed that if such an appeal to civic duty is error, it is harmless. People v. Wash, 6 Cal.4th 215, 24 Cal. Rptr.2d 421, 450, 861 P.2d 1107, 1136 (1993), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 836, 115 S.Ct. 116, 130 L.Ed.2d 62 (1994); Byrd v. Commonwealth, 825 S.W.2d 272, 276 (Ky. 1992); People v. Kirkland, 199 A.D.2d 54, 605 N.Y.S.2d 27, 28 (N.Y. App. Div. 1993). ¶ 174. The prosecutor also stated that he had the job of charging this crime, and that Holland was being tried for capital murder because this was one of those rare cases. Holland did not object to this comment contemporaneously, and the issue is procedurally barred. See, Box v. State, 610 So.2d 1148, 1154 (Miss. 1992). ¶ 175. Additionally, the following statements are procedurally barred for lack of objection: (1) the prosecutor's statement that the death penalty was under a law passed and adopted and approved in the United States of America and the State of Mississippi, (2) the prosecutor's statement that imposing the death penalty was the right thing to do, (3) the prosecutor's statement that the death penalty was the only just verdict in this case, and (4) the prosecutor's statement that it is my strong contention that you can't [grant the defendant mercy] under the sentencing instruction S-1, and you said that you would follow the law. Box, 610 So.2d at 1154.