Opinion ID: 1697230
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to improper prosecutorial statements during closing argument at the guilt phase.

Text: ¶ 74. During closing argument in the guilt phase, the defense attorneys argued that the jury should not convict based on circumstantial evidence. In his rebuttal, the prosecutor compared the case to that of Ted Bundy who, the prosecutor claimed, had been convicted on circumstantial evidence. Smith now claims that his attorneys were ineffective in failing to object to that statement. ¶ 75. The defense also argued that the Smiths could not possibly have killed the victim in Sidon at the time the crime allegedly occurred when they had been seen by their witnesses in Isola approximately an hour or forty-five minutes later. In his closing argument, the prosecutor argued that from his own experience, a person could easily drive the distance from the crime scene to Isola in forty-five minutes. The petitioner alleges that his attorneys were ineffective in failing to object to that statement as there was no proof in the record about the distances involved. ¶ 76. As a general rule, prosecutors are to be given wide latitude in making their closing arguments. Wiley v. State, 691 So.2d 959, 965 (Miss.1997) (citing Jimpson v. State, 532 So.2d 985, 991 (Miss.1988); Johnson v. State, 477 So.2d 196, 209 (Miss.1985)); Shook v. State, 552 So.2d 841, 851 (Miss.1989). With that latitude in mind, the closing argument must be considered in context, considering the circumstances of the case. Id. Citing Ballenger v. State, 667 So.2d 1242, 1270 (Miss.1995); Davis v. State, 660 So.2d 1228, 1248 (Miss.1995). ¶ 77. Again, these issues were substantially raised in the direct appeal and were found to be without merit. Smith, 729 So.2d at 1214-15. In the direct appeal, this Court discussed the merits of those claims even though the defense attorneys failed to object during the closing argument. The Court found that the prosecutor's statements were not improper and that reversal was not warranted. The prosecutor did not compare Smith to Ted Bundy or argue that Smith should receive the death penalty like Ted Bundy. He merely stated that circumstantial evidence alone could be sufficient to support a murder conviction, as it had been in Bundy's case. As to the statement as to the mileage between Sidon and Isola, the Court found that argument was within the latitude of permissible closing argument. Id. ¶ 78. These issues were raised in the direct appeal and were found to be without merit. They are therefore barred here. Post-conviction relief is not warranted on these claims of ineffective assistance of counsel in the failure to object to the prosecutor's closing argument in the guilt phase. Notwithstanding the procedural bar, the comments were within the wide allowable latitude granted in an attorney's closing argument.