Opinion ID: 1142334
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Survivors' Opinions of the Defendant, the Crime and the Sentence

Text: During the sentencing phase of the trial, the state called three victim impact witnesses, namely: (1) Ponsano's sister, Lisa Reeves; (2) her niece, Wendy Reeves; and (3) her fiancé, James Shatzel. Each of them testified as to Ponsano's good characteristics, and stated that they were deeply affected by her death. At the conclusion of questioning these witnesses, the state asked each whether they had any sympathy for the defendant and received a negative reply. The defendant argues that his death sentence should be reversed because these statements constitute indirect characterizations and opinions about the crime, the defendant and the appropriate sentence, and fall beyond the scope of permissible victim impact testimony under both Payne and Bernard. [8] Assuming, but not deciding, that this testimony exceeded the boundaries set forth in Bernard, any possible error was harmless. An error is harmless if the verdict rendered was surely unattributable to the error. La. Code Crim.P. art. 921; State v. Johnson, 94-1379, p. 14 (La. 11/27/95), 664 So.2d 94, 100, citing Sullivan v. Louisiana, 508 U.S. 275, 113 S.Ct. 2078, 124 L.Ed.2d 182 (1993). This Court has previously applied the harmless error standard to a victim impact witnesses' comments on the appropriateness of the death penalty. State v. Rushing, 464 So.2d 268 (La.1985), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1153, 106 S.Ct. 2258, 90 L.Ed.2d 703 (1986). The evidence at issue was presented during the first day of a five day penalty hearing, during which time the defendant introduced a vast amount of mitigation evidence, including the testimony of 20 witnesses: 14 lay witnesses, including the defendant; a paralegal who calculated the number of hours the defendant worked; two clinical social workers; a clinical psychologist; a psychiatrist; and C. Paul Phelps, a social worker and the former Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections. The defense also introduced letters that the defendant wrote to his grandmother, and the defendant's school, work, and mental health records. In contrast, the entire victim impact testimony of which the defense complains was presented by the state on the first day of the hearing, lasted only a very short time, and takes up only 10 pages of the 793 page penalty hearing transcript. Any possible prejudicial effect created by the admission of this evidence was diluted by the defendant's presentation of a lengthy and detailed mitigation case. Furthermore, surely the jury regarded the testimony of these victim impact witnesses as normal human reactions to the death of a loved one. That the victim's survivors might have little or no sympathy for the defendant certainly would come as no surprise to a member of the jury. During voir dire, both the state and the defense questioned prospective jurors about their ability to remain impartial after listening to emotional victim impact testimony. Each of the jurors stated that they would afford such evidence appropriate weight and would not render a decision based solely upon sympathy for the victim and her survivors. Finally, at the close of the penalty phase, the trial court instructed the jury on the weight to be afforded this victim impact evidence: Ladies and gentlemen, you heard testimony in this case from persons who are relatives of the victim. These persons are called victim impact witnesses. Evidence adduced from these witnesses is simply another form or method of informing the sentencing authority about the specific harm caused by the crime in question. These witnesses, however, are not called into court for the purpose of deciding the penalty in the case. You, the jurors, are the ones, who, in law, must bare [sic] the responsibility of deciding the penalty to be received by the defendant. You're not to be influenced by sympathy, passion, prejudice, or public opinion. You are expected to reach a just verdict. We find that any possible error created by the admission of this victim impact evidence was harmless, and does not warrant reversal of the sentence.