Opinion ID: 1058303
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Sentencing Option of Life Imprisonment Even If One or Both Aggravating Factors Found

Text: During the sentencing phase, the circuit court overruled Prieto's objection that the verdict forms should provide an option for the jury to sentence Prieto to life imprisonment even if the jury found one or both aggravating factors. The circuit court held that it had an obligation to follow the language of [Code § 19.2-264.4(D)], which provides sample verdict forms. The court also noted: I don't have any question that the language in the statute is mandatory, I don't have any flexibility in that at all. The court recognized this as a dilemma because it held that the statutory verdict form was mandatory, but also that it was lacking if the jury finds the aggravators but [does not] give death. Verdict form two, used by the jury in its finding concerning the murder of Raver, tracked the language of Code § 19.2-264.4(D) and provided: We, the jury on the issue joined, having found Alfredo Prieto guilty of the willful, deliberate and premeditated killing of Rachael Raver in the commission of or subsequent to rape and that after consideration of his prior history that there is a probability that he would commit criminal acts of violence that would constitute a continuing serious threat to society or his conduct in committing the offense is outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman in that it involved torture or depravity of mind, and having considered the evidence in mitigation of the offense, unanimously fix his punishment at death. Signed__________________, foreman. Or We, the jury on the issue joined, having found Alfredo Prieto guilty of the willful, deliberate and premeditated killing of Rachael Raver in the commission of or subsequent to rape and having considered all of the evidence in aggravation and mitigation of such offense, fix his punishment at: (please choose one) ___ imprisonment for life or ____ imprisonment for life and a fine of $_____. Signed___________________, foreman. Verdict form three, used by the jury in its finding concerning the murders of Raver and Fulton as part of the same act or transaction was identical to verdict form two, except for the names of the victims and the description of the capital murder elements. The court acknowledged Prieto's objection to the verdict forms, stating: I mean couldn't someone read this verdict form to suggest that if the aggravating factors are present, death follows, and if the aggravating factors are not present, there must be imprisonment for life. But it doesn't address the third possibility which is the aggravating factors exist but you choose life. The circuit court granted three instructions that addressed this issue. Instructions 6A and 6B were offered by the Commonwealth with respect to the capital murder of Raver in the commission of or subsequent to rape and the capital murder of Raver and Fulton as part of the same act or transaction. These two instructions were intended to properly instruct the jury regarding the statutory aggravators of future dangerousness and vileness, the Commonwealth's burden of proof regarding those aggravating factors, the consideration of evidence in mitigation, and the sentencing options available to the jury. In addition, the circuit court granted Instruction J, which was offered by Prieto. Instruction J provided: You are instructed that even if you find the Commonwealth has proven beyond a reasonable doubt one or both of the aggravating circumstances, you are never required to sentence the defendant to death. Rather, despite your findings, you may if you choose sentence him to life in prison without the possibility of parole, with or without a fine. In other words, with regard to either or both Verdict Forms Number 2 and 3, if you find the Commonwealth has proven beyond a reasonable doubt one or both of the aggravating circumstances, and you find that the appropriate sentence is death, you would use the first paragraph on Verdict Form Number 2 and Verdict Form Number 3, respectively. Alternatively, there are two circumstances in which you would use the second paragraph on Verdict Form Number 2 and Verdict Form Number 3:(1) if you find that the Commonwealth has proven beyond a reasonable doubt one or both of the aggravating circumstances and you nevertheless find that the appropriate sentence is life or life and a fine; or (2) if you find that the Commonwealth has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt at least one of the aggravating circumstances. The foreman of the jury endorsed the first paragraph of verdict forms two and three, thus sentencing Prieto to death on each charge. After Prieto was convicted and sentenced to death, he filed a motion to set aside his death sentences and for a new trial arguing that the verdict forms failed to provide the jury with the option of imposing a life sentence even if it found one or both of the aggravating factors. In his motion, Prieto provided the court with case law supporting his argument. Specifically, Prieto argued that this court's decisions in Powell v. Commonwealth, 261 Va. 512, 552 S.E.2d 344 (2001), and Morrisette v. Warden of the Sussex I State Prison, 270 Va. 188, 613 S.E.2d 551 (2005), cert. denied, 546 U.S. 1216, 126 S.Ct. 1437, 164 L.Ed.2d 136 (2006), controlled the issue and required the circuit court to provide a verdict form that gave the jury the option of sentencing Prieto to life even if it found one or both of the aggravating factors. At oral argument on Prieto's motion, the circuit court stated that what it characterized as a dilemma in the jury instruction conference was not in fact a dilemma at all because this Court in Powell and Morrisette held that the circuit court must explicitly provide a verdict form containing the option of life in prison even where the jury finds one or both [aggravating] factors to exist. The court also stated: Had I had Morrisette and Powell in front of me when I decided this issue, I assure you that the verdict form would have been modified in a manner consistent with these binding precedents. The court, in discussing Prieto's verdict forms in light of Powell and Morrisette, noted that the Supreme Court could not have been more explicit and this verdict form does not square with its decision. Nevertheless, the court denied Prieto's motion, holding that Instruction J goes substantially beyond the standard instruction which tells the jury that it can find an aggravating factor to exist and still impose a sentence of life. According to the court, Instruction J distinguishes this case from Morrisette and Powell. The court stated that with the instruction, the jury could not have been confused or conflicted about its options. On appeal to this Court, Prieto argues that verdict forms two and three were defective because they failed to give the jury the option of imposing a life sentence even if it found one or both aggravating factors, as required by Powell and Morrisette. Prieto contends that the jury instructions did not correct this defect because a jury instruction, no matter how clear, cannot cure a problem with a defective verdict form. In response, the Commonwealth argues that this Court has never held that Virginia's statutory verdict form contained in Code § 19.2-264.4(D) is constitutionally lacking. The Commonwealth asserts that the verdict forms used correspond exactly to the jury instructions and provided a means for the jury to exercise each sentencing option. According to the Commonwealth, this Court's discussion of verdict forms in Powell is dicta and was rendered as an advisory opinion for future capital cases. Additionally, the Commonwealth contends that in Morrisette the Court did not rule that the circuit court erred in using the statutory verdict form because it was a habeas case addressing ineffective assistance of counsel. The Commonwealth also asserts that because the General Assembly amended Code § 19.2-264.4 after Powell, it abrogated Powell as far as requiring verdict forms to provide for the sentencing option Prieto now urges. The Commonwealth maintains that because of the General Assembly's action, courts are required to use the statutory verdict form. On this issue, we agree with Prieto. We have previously held that it is materially vital to the defendant in a criminal case that the jury have a proper verdict form. Atkins v. Commonwealth, 257 Va. 160, 178, 510 S.E.2d 445, 456 (1999). [5] In Powell, we addressed whether in a capital murder sentencing, a circuit court commits error by failing to grant a proposed verdict form which provides the jury the option to impose a sentence of life imprisonment even if the jury finds both aggravating factors. See 261 Va. at 542, 552 S.E.2d at 361. While reversing Powell's conviction on other grounds, we recognized that this was an issue of first impression and addressed the issue on the merits, stating that our decision will be instructive to future capital murder trials. Id. at 541, 552 S.E.2d at 361. We stated: [T]he issue [in this case] is whether the jury is likely to be confused where it is instructed that it may impose a sentence other than death if it finds one or both of the aggravating factors have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, but receives verdict forms that do not expressly state that the jury is allowed to fix a sentence of life imprisonment even though one or both aggravating factors are present. The rationale of Atkins flows from the principle that it is materially vital to the defendant in a criminal case that the jury have a proper verdict form. Atkins, 257 Va. at 178, 510 S.E.2d at 456. That rationale may be extended to the provision of jury verdict forms with sentencing options that accurately and expressly correspond to the trial court's sentencing instruction. Accordingly, we hold that in a capital murder trial, the trial court must give the jury verdict forms providing expressly for the imposition of a sentence of imprisonment for life and a fine of not more than $100,000 when the jury finds that one or both of the aggravating factors have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. at 545, 552 S.E.2d at 363 (emphasis added). Subsequent to Powell, we considered the same issue in the context of a writ of habeas corpus in which the defendant claimed that his trial counsel was ineffective for not objecting to the verdict forms, which did not give the jury the option of imposing a life sentence if it found one or both of the aggravating factors. Morrisette, 270 Va. at 197, 613 S.E.2d at 559. In addressing the merits of the defendant's ineffective assistance claim, we stated: We take this opportunity to reaffirm our holding in Powell,  that a verdict form must expressly include that sentencing option. Id. at 202, 613 S.E.2d at 562. Our decisions in Powell and Morrisette make it clear that a verdict form must provide the jury with the explicit option of imposing a life sentence even if the jury finds one or both aggravating factors. The Commonwealth's argument that any error in the verdict form is cured by the jury instructions is without merit. As in this case, we have previously set aside a defendant's sentence of death and ordered a new sentencing proceeding because [t]he jury was presented with a confusing situation in which the trial court's instructions and the form the jury was given to use in discharging its obligations were in conflict. Atkins, 257 Va. at 179, 510 S.E.2d at 457. No jury instruction can overcome a verdict form in a capital murder sentencing proceeding which is defective for lack of a sentencing option to impose life imprisonment even if one or both aggravators are found. We also disagree with the Commonwealth's argument that the General Assembly's amendment of Code § 19.2-264.4 after our decision in Powell was a rejection of the holding in Powell. Code § 19.2-264.4 establishes the sentencing proceeding in a capital murder case and recognizes that a jury must be instructed upon request of the defendant that a life sentence means life without parole. This statute also authorizes victim impact testimony and addresses the admissibility of evidence in sentencing proceedings. Moreover, the statute stipulates that no penalty of death can be imposed unless the Commonwealth proves one or both aggravating factors beyond a reasonable doubt and requires the imposition of imprisonment for life if a sentencing jury cannot agree as to the penalty. There is, however, nothing in Code § 19.2-264.4 dictating required jury instructions. It is the interplay between a circuit court's instructions to the jury and an appropriate sentencing verdict form that is central to the issue in this case. Code § 19.2-264.4(D) states that [t]he verdict of the jury shall be in writing, and in one of the following forms and provides only two forms. Clearly, the two generic forms cannot be intended to limit the circuit court in the myriad of possible instructions and verdict forms that may arise in a capital murder case. Our review of trial records in previous capital murder cases involving imposition of the sentence of death reveals that the statutory form was often not utilized, yielding to the circuit court's discretion in tailoring verdict forms to the issues presented in a particular case. In these cases, the circuit courts provided multiple verdict forms offering the jury the option of finding unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt either or both aggravating factors, and offering the jury for each finding the option of death or life imprisonment, with or without a fine. Porter v. Commonwealth, 276 Va. 203, 264-65, 661 S.E.2d 415, 447-48 (2008); Gray v. Commonwealth, 274 Va. 290, 645 S.E.2d 448 (2007); Teleguz v. Commonwealth, 273 Va. 458, 643 S.E.2d 708 (2007), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 128 S.Ct. 1228, 170 L.Ed.2d 78 (2008); Juniper v. Commonwealth, 271 Va. 362, 388, 626 S.E.2d 383, 400-01, cert. denied, 549 U.S. 960, 127 S.Ct. 397, 166 L.Ed.2d 282 (2006); Muhammad v. Commonwealth, 269 Va. 451, 526, 619 S.E.2d 16, 59 (2005), cert. denied, 547 U.S. 1136, 126 S.Ct. 2035, 164 L.Ed.2d 794 (2006). We hold that the language of Code § 19.2-264.4 does not require the circuit court to abdicate its authority in tailoring jury instructions and verdict forms so that a jury is clearly instructed on the issues relevant to the particular case the jury is considering. Sentencing options set forth in a verdict form must explicitly correspond to the circuit court's sentencing instructions. Morrisette, 270 Va. at 202, 613 S.E.2d at 562. Since Code § 19.2-264.4 provides no requirements or guidance for the circuit court in instructing a capital sentencing jury, there is no way that the verdict forms set out in Code § 19.2-264.4(D) could adequately apply to all possible sentencing alternatives available to the jury. Although the jury was instructed that in finding one or both of the aggravating factors, the jury could sentence Prieto to life imprisonment, with or without a fine, there simply was no corresponding option in the statutory verdict form. We find no reason to depart from our previous holding in Powell and Morrisette that when a jury is instructed that available sentencing options include life imprisonment, with or without a fine, the circuit court is required to provide a verdict form expressly providing the jury with that option. In this case, the verdict forms provided by the circuit court were defective in not specifically providing the jury in the sentencing phase the option to sentence Prieto to life imprisonment, with or without a fine, even if the jury found one or both of the aggravating factors.