Court Opinion

ID: 9754770
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 20:13:15.294182+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:27:57.572023
License: Public Domain

Justice NIGRO
dissenting.
I cannot agree with the majority’s conclusion that when questioning co-conspirator Herbert Blakeney, the prosecutor merely articulated the existence and parameters of Blakeney’s plea agreement with the Commonwealth. In my view, the prosecutor improperly bolstered and vouched for the credibility of Blakeney, and in doing so, ran “afoul of .. . the require*650ments of fundamental fairness.” See Commonwealth v. Bricker, 525 Pa. 362, 581 A.2d 147, 155 (1990). Accordingly, I must respectfully dissent.
The Commonwealth cannot conceal the existence of a promise or an agreement to recommend a specific sentence or. leniency for a crucial prosecution witness. See Commonwealth v. Hallowell, 477 Pa. 232, 383 A.2d 909, 911 (1978); see also Commonwealth v. Porreca, 528 Pa. 46, 595 A.2d 23, 27 n. 2 (1991) (under Pa.R.Crim.P. 590, no plea agreement exists unless and until it is presented to the court). It is entirely appropriate for the Commonwealth to reveal the existence and terms of a plea agreement through the testimony of the witness who entered into the agreement with the prosecution. Bricker, 581 A.2d at 155. However, this Court has made clear that the Commonwealth may not take any further action that bolsters the witness’s testimony or indicates to the jury that the prosecutor vouches for the truth of the witness’s testimony. See, e.g., id. at 154-55; Commonwealth v. Tann, 500 Pa. 593, 459 A.2d 322 (1983).
In Tann, the defendant, a participant in a violent racial confrontation, was tried for murder. The Commonwealth called two participants in the violence, Joseph Patterson and Keith Hill, to testify against Tann. Patterson and Hill had each entered into a plea agreement with the Commonwealth, obtaining leniency in exchange for their testimony. At Tann’s trial, the Commonwealth, in addition to Patterson and Hill, also called the attorneys who represented Patterson and Hill to testify about the plea agreements. Patterson’s attorney testified that Patterson had been advised of his Fifth Amendment rights, but had agreed to waive his right against self-incrimination and testify at trial. Hill’s attorney testified that in exchange for “his [Hill’s] testimony, to testify to what he saw on the night in question and telling the truth there [would] be no charges of any kind ... brought against him....” Id. at 327 (emphasis in original). Tann was subsequently convicted of third-degree murder.
On appeal, this Court found that defense counsel’s failure to object to the attorneys’ highly prejudicial and irrelevant testi*651mony regarding their clients’ plea agreements could have had no reasonable basis designed to effectuate Tann’s interest and therefore, constituted ineffective assistance of counsel. Id. at 328. Thus, the Court reversed the judgment of sentence and granted Tann a new trial. Id. This conclusion was premised on the principle that where it is likely that the jury will associate a witness with the accused and with the criminal episode giving rise to the charges against the accused, that witness may not be placed on the stand for the purpose of having him exercise his privilege against self-incrimination before the jury. Id. at 327-28 (citing Commonwealth v. Davenport, 453 Pa. 235, 308 A.2d 85 (1973); Commonwealth v. DuVal, 453 Pa. 205, 307 A.2d 229 (1973); Commonwealth v. Greene, 445 Pa. 228, 285 A.2d 865 (1971)). Expanding upon that principle, the Tann Court stated:
We believe the same prohibition pertains where the Commonwealth seeks to call to the attention of the jury the fact that a witness, who is associated with the accused in the activity giving rise to the criminal charges, has waived his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination and is taking the witness stand to tell the truth. This tactic has the effect of emphasizing to the jury that the defendant, who is associated with the witness, has the same opportunity to waive his constitutional rights and tell the truth. The defendant is unduly prejudiced by this blatant invitation for the jury to draw an inference from the fact that the witness is foregoing his constitutional right against self-incrimination. This tends to spotlight the accused if he fails to do the same thing and clearly invites an improper prejudicial inference from the jury. In the present case, the Commonwealth’s use of this unwarranted tactic could only steer the jury to infer that since its witnesses, Patterson and Hill, waived their Fifth Amendment rights and willingly gave self-incriminating testimony, Patterson and Hill’s testimony was the truth and entirely believable. Added to this is the circumstance of the appellant Tann not taking the witness stand and failing to offer any testimony in his own defense. This invited the inference that, if he had testified and had *652told the truth, his testimony would have confirmed his guilt. It was entirely improper for the Commonwealth to invite such prejudicial inferences in the manner employed here.
Id. at 328 (emphasis in original) (footnote omitted).
Similarly, in Bricker, the Commonwealth’s evidence against the defendant included the testimony of two witnesses, Charles Kellington and Charles Rossi, who testified pursuant to plea agreements. At the Commonwealth’s request, the trial court allowed the plea agreements to be sent out with the jury during its deliberations. The jury subsequently convicted the defendant of first-degree murder, and he was sentenced to death. Relying on Tarn, this Court determined on appeal that the trial court committed reversible error in sending the agreements out with the jury. In reversing the conviction, we noted that the language in the plea agreements obligated Rossi and Kellington to tell the truth, and that the signatures of law enforcement officials on the documents that formalized the agreements “placed the imprimatur of their offices as support for the proposition that Rossi and Kellington were telling the truth.” Bricker, 581 A.2d at 154 (emphasis in original). We further observed that “by admitting into evidence these agreements that vouch for their credibility, the government was testifying sub silentio that ‘just this once’ these lowlife witnesses should be believed; that ‘during this trial’ they are crowned with the governmental halo of ‘being on the right side’ and are therefore credible.” Id. at 155 (emphasis in original). The plea agreements, the Court explained, in effect served as “silent witnesses” from which the jury could reasonably infer that the defendant had the same opportunity as Rossi and Kellington to cooperate, yet chose to remain silent. Id. at 154-155. Based on this reasoning, we concluded that it was “beyond question that permitting the prosecution to send these documents out with the jury during deliberations impermissibly bolstered the credibility of Charles Rossi and Charles Kellington.” Id. We warned that such “impermissible vouching for witnesses—especially witnesses of this caliber—offends our sense of decency and our *653notion of the fundamental fairness inherent in our judicial system.” Id. at 155.
This Court recently addressed a similar claim in Commonwealth v. DeJesus, 567 Pa. 415, 787 A.2d 394 (2001), where the defendant argued that the prosecutor improperly bolstered and vouched for the testimony of a witness who entered into a plea agreement with the Commonwealth. In DeJesus, the defendant and several cohorts were arrested, charged and tried jointly for two murders. Following the arrests, one of the men pled guilty and testified for the Commonwealth at trial. Prior to trial, DeJesus joined in a motion in limine to bar the Commonwealth from asking the witness whether one of the conditions of his plea agreement was to “testify truthfully.” The trial court granted the motion as to the witness’s direct testimony, but allowed for the possibility of an appropriate inquiry in that regard on redirect.1 When the witness was testifying on direct that he had pled guilty, the prosecutor asked him whether “[i'|n return for [your] deal, did you have to testify truthfully in this case?” Id. at 411 (quoting N.T., 7/28/99, at 137). The question, however, went unanswered because the trial court sustained defense counsel’s objection.2 Writing for the majority, Mr. Justice Gappy rejected the defendant’s claim, explaining that:
While it is clear that the question violated the trial court’s ruling on the motion in limine, we cannot agree with [the defendant] that it rose to the bolstering that we have denounced. In our view, this one question from the prosecutor to [the witness] served neither to place the Common*654wealth’s official sanction on his credibility nor cloak him with the Commonwealth’s authority.
Id. (citing Bricker, 581 A.2d at 154).
In the instant case, Appellant claims that the prosecutor employed questioning on direct and redirect examination that improperly bolstered the testimony of Blakeney. According to Appellant, the following segment of testimony from the prosecutor’s direct examination of Blakeney shows that the prosecutor used his own opinion, the prestige of his office, and the opinion of Blakeney’s attorney to vouch for the truth of Blakeney’s testimony:
Q [Prosecutor]: Is that a copy of the Plea Agreement that you signed with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, you, your attorney, me, and the Chief of the Homicide Unit back on July 16th, 1998?
A [Blakeney]: Yes
* * *
Q: And is it correct that you expect to receive a sentence in exchange for your truthful testimony here today; is that correct?
A: Yes.
Q: So the total sentence you expect to receive in exchange for your truthful testimony is double life to run consecutive to one another plus 22 and a half to 45 years incarceration, that’s life without parole, is that your understanding?
A: Yes.
Q: The agreement that the Commonwealth made with you in exchange for your truthful testimony at this hearing and at all other hearings was that we would not seek the death penalty; is that correct?
A: Yes.
Q: I’d ask you to turn to Page 2, sir, Paragraph No. 3. Do you see at the bottom of Paragraph No. 3 it says as part of this agreement, Herbert Blakeney uhll neither attempt to protect any person or entity through omission or false *655information nor falsely implicate any person or entity. Is that correct, sir?
A: Yes.
Q: No. 4 where it says, Herbert Blakeney will testify t'mthfully, is that your understanding of the agreement, sir? A: Yes, sir.
[Prosecutor]: At this time I have a statement which has been marked for purposes of identification as C 55. Counsel has a copy. May it be shown to the witness, please?
BY [Prosecutor]:
Q: Sir, what has been marked as C-55 is a true and correct copy of the statement you gave on July 7th, 1998, to homicide Detective David Barber; is that correct?
A: Yes.
Q: And when you gave that statement you were in the District Attorney’s Office with your attorney Charles P. Mirarchi; is that correct?
A: Yes.
Q: And after you completed the statement you had a chance with your attorney to review all the pages of the statement and your attorney read the pages to you; is that correct? A: Yes.
(N.T., 9/21/99, at 41-43) (emphasis added). The prosecutor’s questioning of Blakeney continued on redirect examination as follows:
Q: So is this statement true and correct with the exception of if you turn to Page 4, defense counsel asked you about the end of that answer about the order of at what point you went shopping [after the murders], other than that, is the statement completely true?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you remember being in my office about two weeks ago with homicide detectives for a session when we went over what you had said in each of the two statements and *656what you had said in the Preliminary Hearing under oath on September 3rd, 1998?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you remember being in my office about a week before that as well doing the same thing?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you remember what I said was the most important thing to say at all times when you were—
MR. MOORE [Appellant’s counsel]:' Objection.
MR. LAMENDOLA [Co-defendant Marcus Lloyd’s counsel]: Objection.
THE COURT: Excuse me, that will be sustained.
(N.T., 9/21/99, at 184-185).
Based on this questioning, Appellant alleges that the prosecutor impermissibly assured the jury of Blakeney’s veracity and the truthfulness of his testimony.3 Appellant further complains that even though the court sustained defense counsel’s objection on redirect, the court failed to give a curative instruction, which left the jury with the impression that the prosecutor and the investigating detectives vouched for the credibility of Blakeney’s testimony.
In rejecting these arguments, the majority concludes that “the prosecutor’s use of the word ‘truthful’ in his direct examination of Blakeney [was] merely an articulation of the parameters of the plea agreement.” (Maj. Op., at 515). The majority also finds that the prosecutor simply rehabilitated Blakeney’s credibility on redirect examination. Id. In addition, apparently suggesting that any possible prejudice to Appellant was nevertheless cured, the majority finds that “the court warned the jury that Blakeney might not be telling the *657truth” by instructing the jury on the law regarding accomplice testimony. Id. at 515-16. Thus, the majority concludes that the prosecutor’s questioning did not impermissibly bolster Blakeney’s testimony and did not violate the requirements of fundamental fairness. I disagree.
The record in the instant case plainly shows that the questioning in the instant case, unlike the questioning deemed permissible in Dejesus, involved far more than a single question, with the prosecutor repeatedly emphasizing the truthfulness of Blakeney’s testimony before the jury. By asserting his personal opinion that Blakeney was telling the truth to the jury, the prosecutor clearly placed his stamp of approval, and the accompanying authority of his office, upon Blakeney’s testimony.'4 Moreover, through the questions he chose, the prosecutor invited the jury, in direct contradiction to this Court’s pronouncement in Tann, to draw improper inferences about Appellant’s decision not to testify in his own defense. See Tann, 459 A.2d at 328 (improper for Commonwealth to invite prejudicial inferences in situations where an accomplice witness waives his Fifth Amendment rights and takes the stand to testify and the defendant fails to testify in his defense). In my mind, this line of questioning went far beyond merely disclosing the existence and parameters of the plea agreement, and instead improperly vouched for Blakeney’s credibility and in doing so, impermissibly bestowed upon Blakeney the “governmental halo of ‘being on the right side.’ ” See Bricker, 581 A.2d at 155.5
*658The majority nonetheless apparently concludes that any prejudice caused by the prosecutor’s vouching for and bolstering of Blakeney’s credibility was remedied by the trial court’s corrupt source charge. Again, I cannot agree.
The purpose of a corrupt source charge is to warn the jury, when an accomplice implicates the defendant, that an accomplice is a corrupt and polluted source whose testimony must be received with caution. See Commonwealth v. Williams, 557 Pa. 207, 732 A.2d 1167, 1181 (1999). The rationale behind a corrupt source charge lies in the recognition that an accomplice, out of a reasonable expectation of leniency, has an interest in inculpating others. Commonwealth v. Thomas, 479 Pa. 34, 387 A.2d 820, 822 (1978). However, a corrupt source instruction does not in any way address the Commonwealth’s bolstering of that same witness, such as that which occurred here during the prosecutor’s questioning of Blakeney. Thus, it is difficult to see, as the majority suggests, how the corrupt source charge given in the instant case managed to cure the prejudice created by the prosecutor’s improper questioning of Blakeney. In fact, without a curative instruction specifically addressed to the prosecutor’s bolstering of Blakeney’s testimony, the corrupt source charge was, at the very least, diluted in meaning by the fact that the jury remained free to consider the prosecutor’s assurances that Blakeney’s testimony was truthful, and therefore by implication, not suspect or corrupt.6
*659Given the prosecutor’s improper questioning and the absence of an appropriate curative instruction, the prejudicial effect on Appellant’s right to a fair trial was, in my view, overwhelming. As such, I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that the prosecutor’s questioning did not impermissibly bolster Blakeney’s testimony and did not violate the requirements of fundamental fairness. Accordingly, I would award Appellant a new trial.
Although I believe Appellant is entitled to a new trial, I nonetheless feel compelled to address the application of the aggravating circumstance set forth in 42 Pa.C.S. § 9711(d)(5)(“(d)(5) aggravating circumstance”), which applies where the Commonwealth proves beyond a reasonable doubt that “[t]he victim was a prosecution witness to a murder or other felony committed by the defendant and was killed for the purpose of preventing his testimony against the defendant in any grand jury or criminal proceeding involving such offenses,” 42 Pa.C.S. § 9711(d)(5), to the instant case. While I agree with the majority’s conclusion that the Commonwealth presented sufficient evidence to support the finding of this aggravator under this Court’s precedent, I write separately only to express my view that the limits of what is minimally necessary to prove the (d)(5) aggravator has been reached in this case.
This Court explored the parameters of the (d)(5) aggravating circumstance in Commonwealth v. Crawley, 514 Pa. 539, 526 A.2d 334, 345 (1987), holding that in order to sustain a finding of the (d)(5) aggravator, evidence must be introduced to establish that the victim was a prosecution witness who was killed to prevent his testimony in a pending criminal proceeding. Writing for the majority, Mr. Justice, now Chief Justice, Zappala explained that:
The legislature clearly intended that the Commonwealth bear the burden of establishing (1) that the victim was a prosecution witness to a murder or other felony, and (2) that the victim was killed for the purpose of preventing the testimony in a grand jury or criminal proceeding involving the offense.
*660We hold that under § 9711(d)(5), evidence must be introduced to prove that the victim was a prosecution witness who was killed to prevent his testimony in a pending grand jury or criminal proceeding. The burden of the Commonwealth will not be met by simply showing that an individual who witnessed a murder or other felony committed by a defendant was also killed by the defendant.
Id. (emphasis added). Justice Zappala stated that to hold otherwise would distort the statutory language of (d)(5), which this Court had previously found expressed “the obvious intention of the drafters to address the frontal assault upon the criminal justice system of this Commonwealth” represented by crimes involving the fully formed intent, prior to the event, to kill a prosecution witness.7 Id. (citation omitted). Accord Commonwealth v. Caldwell, 516 Pa. 441, 532 A.2d 813, 816 (1987) (insufficient evidence to support (d)(5) aggravating circumstance because no criminal proceeding involving an offense to which either of the victims was a prosecution witness was pending at the time the murders were committed, even though defendant confessed that he killed the victims out of concern that they would later identify him).
Subsequently, however, this Court modified the rule announced in Crawley and expanded the reach of the (d)(5) aggravating circumstance. In Commonwealth v. Appel, 517 Pa. 529, 539 A.2d 780 (1988), the defendant decided to rob a bank and devised a plan to ensure that all persons who might be in the bank at the time of the robbery could be executed before an alarm could be pressed. It was also crucial to the defendant’s plan that no eyewitnesses survive. In attempting to carry out this plan, while robbing the bank, the defendant and his accomplice shot all five people who were present, killing three of them and seriously wounding the other two. On appeal, this Court affirmed the trial court’s determination that the (d)(5) aggravating circumstance applied because the victims were killed for the purpose of preventing their testimony against the defendant in the criminal proceedings involv*661ing the bank robbery. Id. at 783-84. The Court in Appel explained that the killing of a potential Commonwealth witness results in the same frontal assault upon the criminal justice system as a witness in a pending criminal proceeding, and therefore, concluded that the existence of the (d)(5) aggravating circumstance may be found where the killing results from the intention to eliminate a potential witness, if such facts can be established by direct evidence. Id. at 784 n. 2. Based on that interpretation of (d)(5), the Appel Court held that the defendant’s admission that he tried to kill all of the people in the bank so that there would be no potential witnesses against him constituted sufficient direct evidence to establish that aggravating factor. Id. at 783-84, 784 n. 2. Accord Commonwealth v. Strong, 563 A.2d 479, 485 (Pa.1989) (sufficient evidence of (d)(5) where defendant robbed victim and killed him to prevent him from reporting the robbery, stating he was “tired of leaving witnesses behind”).
Subsequently, in Commonwealth v. Daniels, 537 Pa. 464, 644 A.2d 1175 (1994), this Court summarized its interpretation of (d)(5) as follows:
A finding of the existence of the aggravating circumstance set forth in § 9711(d)(5) requires proof that the victim was killed to prevent his testimony in a pending grand jury or criminal proceeding. The existence of this particular aggravating circumstance may be found, absent a pending criminal proceeding, only where the facts establish by direct, rather than circumstantial evidence, that the killing resulted from the intention to eliminate a potential witness. This burden will not be met by simply showing that an individual who witnessed a murder or other felony committed by a defendant was also killed by the defendant.
Id. at 1179 (emphasis added) (citations omitted).8
In the instant case, although the victims were not witnesses against Appellant in a pending criminal action, the Commonwealth did present evidence that the victims were killed because they were potential witnesses. Accordingly, based on *662this Court’s case law, I agree with the majority that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury’s finding of the (d)(5) aggravating circumstance here. However, in my view, this case represents the outermost boundary of when the (d)(5) aggravating circumstance can justifiably be applied.
The only reason that the Commonwealth could have properly asserted the applicability of the (d)(5) aggravator in the instant case was the conspiracy link between Appellant and his uncle and co-conspirator, Gregory Miller. At trial, there was no direct evidence presented to show that Appellant intended to kill the victims in order to prevent their testimony against him in a criminal proceeding. Rather, co-conspirator Blakeney testified that Gregory Miller indicated that the victims might have to be killed because the robbery would be traced back to him.9 (N.T., 9/21/99, at 27-28, 180-82). Thus, the *663intent required by the (d)(5) aggravating circumstance was established only by transferring it to Appellant via his co-conspirator Gregory Miller, and that intent was established solely through co-conspirator Blakeney’s testimony. It seems clear that absent the conspiratorial link between Appellant and Gregory Miller, the (d)(5) aggravating circumstance could not have applied to Appellant. Given this tenuous connection, I believe the evidence presented in the instant case represents the absolute minimum required to establish the (d)(5) aggravating circumstance under this Court’s interpretation of that aggravating circumstance.

. The motion in limine and the trial court’s ruling also applied to a second prosecution witness who did not participate in the murders, but who entered into a plea agreement with the Commonwealth in a separate case in exchange for his testimony against DeJesus.

. The trial court also sustained defense counsel’s objection to the following question asked of the second prosecution witness: "Did you tell the police at the time the whole truth about what you knew?" DeJesus, 787 A.2d at 411 (quoting N.T., 7/28/99, at 44). In addition to sustaining the objection based on the phrasing of the question, the trial court instructed the jury that questions are not evidence and to ignore any matter to which an objection was sustained. Id at 411 n. 18.

. In regards to the direct examination, Appellant argues that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the questioning. To prevail on a claim alleging counsel's ineffectiveness, Appellant must demonstrate that: (1) the underlying claim is of arguable merit; (2) counsel's course of conduct was without a reasonable basis designed to effectuate his client’s interest; and (3) he was prejudiced by counsel’s ineffectiveness. See Commonwealth v. Wallace, 555 Pa. 397, 724 A.2d 916, 921 (1999).

. See Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150, 154, 92 S.Ct. 763, 31 L.Ed.2d 104 (1972) ("The prosecutor's office is an entity and as such it is the spokesman for the Government”).

. I believe Appellant has satisfied the burden of demonstrating that counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the prosecutor’s questioning on direct examination. See Wallace, 724 A.2d at 921. Based on the record and the above discussion, it is clear to me that Appellant’s claim that his counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the prosecutor’s questioning of Blakeney on direct examination is of arguable merit. Furthermore, the course chosen by trial counsel to stand by and permit, without objection, the prosecutor’s improper bolstering and vouching of Blakeney's accomplice testimony could have no reasonable basis designed to effectuate Appellant's interest. See Tann, 459 A.2d at 328. Finally, as the prosecutor was vouching for the truthfulness of the *658principal witness against Appellant, whose testimony was critical to a conviction by the Commonwealth, counsel's failure to act was highly prejudicial to Appellant.

. I would note that the trial court conducted a lengthy and thorough charge of the jury, encompassing more than fifty pages of the trial transcript. (N.T., 9/24/99, at 7-62). In addition to the corrupt source instruction, the jury charge included, inter alia, instructions regarding the credibility of witnesses in general, an instruction that statements made by counsel are not evidence and instructions regarding the arguments of counsel. (N.T., 9/24/99, at 14, 21, 52-54). However, in my view, those general charges were not sufficient to remedy any and all error in the direct examination and testimony of Blakeney. Rather, as noted above, a proper cautionary instruction would have specifically addressed the prosecutor's bolstering and vouching in the context of questioning Blakeney.

. In so concluding, the Court specifically rejected the Commonwealth’s attempt to expand the application of (d)(5) not only to a prosecution witness, but also to any witness to a murder or felony.

. In Daniels, the defendant participated in a scheme to kidnap and hold for ransom a sixteen-year-old boy. At trial, the Commonwealth elicited testimony from the defendant that he and one of his cohorts had *662discussed the need to kill the boy because he knew where they lived and, if allowed to go free, would implicate them in the kidnapping. This Court concluded that the direct evidence introduced by the Commonwealth supported the jury's finding that the defendant was motivated to kill the boy in order to prevent him from testifying in a potential criminal proceeding.
See also Commonwealth v. Fisher, 559 Pa. 558, 741 A.2d 1234, 1238-40 (2000) ((d)(5) aggravating circumstance found where Commonwealth presented direct evidence that the victim was killed in retaliation for her cooperation with police in a murder investigation); Commonwealth v. Romero, 555 Pa. 4, 722 A.2d 1014, 1021 (1999) (affirming appellant's death sentence, in case where defendant and three cohorts devised a plan to rob and murder the defendant's landlord, on the basis that the evidence supported the aggravating circumstance that the defendant had a significant history of violent felony convictions, 42 Pa.C.S. § 9711(d)(9), but also noting that the other three aggravating factors found by the jury, including (d)(5), were supported by the evidence); Commonwealth v. Collins, 550 Pa. 46, 703 A.2d 418, 421, 425 (1997) (sufficient evidence of (d)(5) aggravating circumstance where direct evidence was presented to show the defendant murdered the victim as reprisal for the victim’s cooperation with police in investigating a prior shooting, although there was no pending criminal proceeding); Commonwealth v. Henry, 524 Pa. 135, 569 A.2d 929, 937 (1990) ("The killing of witnesses constitutes a frontal assault upon the criminal justice system ... and, whether the decision to kill is made at an early stage, or later, the assault upon the justice system is the same”).

. Indeed, Blakeney himself presented conflicting testimony regarding his reason for shooting the victims. In addition to testifying that it was *663Gregory Miller’s intent to eliminate potential witnesses, Blakeney testified that he killed the victims beeause Appellant insulted his pride and called him a name. (N.T., 9/21/99, at 35-36, 55-60, 180-81). Blakeney testified that after co-defendant Lloyd returned from his unsuccessful attempt to cash Mr. Love's check, Appellant gave the gun to Blakeney and told him he was “a bitch ass nigger” if he didn’t “kill the mother fuckers.” (N.T., 9/21/99, at 35-36). On cross-examination, Blakeney admitted: "I know what led me to kill two people, I was called a name and I had my pride insulted.” (N.T., 9/21/99, at 58).