IN THE SUPREME COURT OF MISSISSIPPI
NO. 2001-DP-01104-SCT
MARLON LATODD HOWELL a/k/a MARLON COX
v.
STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 3/30/2001
TRIAL JUDGE: HON. R. KENNETH COLEMAN
COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: UNION COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: DUNCAN L. LOTT
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
BY: JUDY T. MARTIN
MARVIN L. WHITE, JR.
JOANNE M. McLEOD
JERROLYN M. OWENS
DISTRICT ATTORNEY: JAMES M. HOOD, III
NATURE OF THE CASE: CRIMINAL - DEATH PENALTY - DIRECT
APPEAL
DISPOSITION: AFFIRMED - 10/23/2003
MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED:
MANDATE ISSUED:
EN BANC.
EASLEY, JUSTICE, FOR THE COURT:
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
.1. Marlon Latodd Howell (Howell) was indicted along with Curtis W. Lipsey (Lipsey) and Adam Ray (Ray) for capital murder arising from the slaying and
attempted robbery of
Hugh David Pernell (Pernell) in New Albany, Mississippi. Howell was tried and convicted
of capital murder in the Union County Circuit Court. The jury determined that Howell
should suffer the penalty of death by lethal injection. Howell's subsequent motion for a new
trial was denied. Howell perfected his appeal to this Court after being allowed to proceed
in forma pauperis.
FACTS
.2. Pernell, a retired postal worker, worked as a newspaper carrier for the Tupelo Daily Journal. On May 15, 2000, Pernell was delivering newspapers when he was flagged down by another vehicle sometime after 5:00 a.m. Howell, Ray and Lipsey were in the other vehicle. Howell approached Pernell's driver's side window and shot Pernell. Pernell's vehicle hit a parked vehicle in a nearby driveway. Howell, Ray and Lipsey fled the scene.
.3. The murder occurred in front of the home of Charles Rice (Rice). At the time, Rice was up watching television and getting ready for work. David
Grisham (Chief Grisham),
New Albany Police Chief, investigated Pernell's murder and spoke with Rice. Rice had
observed the exchange. Rice testified that he looked out his window when he heard a horn
blowing. He observed the two vehicles stop in front of his house. Rice testified that a man
got out of the passenger's side of the rear vehicle and walked between the two vehicles up
to the driver's side of the front vehicle. A conversation ensued, and then the man pulled out
a pistol and shot the driver. The shooter then jumped back and got into the rear vehicle
which had pulled up to pickup the shooter. Rice testified that he called 911. Rice described
the shooter as a young black male, early twenties, clean cut, short hair, approximately six
feet tall, light complexion. Rice described the rear vehicle as a dark-colored, late model
Oldsmobile based upon the insignia in the middle of the tail lights. Later on May 15, 2000,
Chief Grisham received an anonymous telephone call suggesting that he question Lipsey.
Chief Grisham left a message for Lipsey to contact the police. Lipsey and Ray voluntarily
went to the police station where they were interviewed by Officers Tim Kent (Officer Kent)
and Chief Grisham. Based on the statements made by Lipsey and Ray, Chief Grisham began
looking for Howell.
.4. Howell was arrested at approximately 7:30 p.m. on May 15, 2000, and questioned by Officer Kent and Chief Grisham. Howell stated that he did not know
anything about the
shooting. Howell claimed that he was in Corinth with a woman at the time of the murder.
.5. Brandon Shaw (Shaw) testified that on May 14, 2000, he rode around with Lipsey and Ray. They picked up Howell. When Howell got into the vehicle, he
stated that he
needed money to pay his probation officer.[ 1 At the sentencing phase of trial, Officer Nance testified that a probationer had to pay a $25 monthly
supervision fee and an extra $10 if a probationer fails a drug test.]1 The four then drove to Tupelo. While stopped at a gas station, Howell observed a
man in the parking lot and stated "there goes an easy
lick." After returning to New Albany, Howell, Lipsey, Ray and Shaw sat around at Shaw's
house for a few hours talking. Shaw's brother, Quinton Shaw (Quinton), and his girlfriend,
Andrea, were also at the house but in a bedroom. Howell, Lipsey and Ray left together
around 4:00 a.m. in Ray's grandmother's car. They all returned together around 5:30 a.m.
.6. Marcus Powell (Powell), who lived in Blue Mountain, had arrived at Shaw's home around 5:10 a.m. and had gone to sleep on the couch. Earlier that
evening, Powell had used
Quinton's Chevy Lumina. On cross-examination, Powell testified that he was awakened by
Howell, Lipsey and Ray returning to Shaw's house. Powell saw them go back to Shaw's
bedroom. Howell was wearing a green shirt that evening, and he had a green shirt wrapped
around his hand when he returned to the house. Ray came back to the living room and sat
down. Powell never saw a gun.
.7. Shaw testified that his cousin, Ray, came back to his bedroom, knocked on the door and stated that "Howell had shot somebody." Shaw came out of his
bedroom and saw
Howell in the living room with a green shirt wrapped around his hand. Howell asked Shaw
to drive him home. Shaw asked his brother to borrow his Chevy Lumina to carry Howell
home to Blue Mountain. Powell also wanted a ride home to Blue Mountain.
.8. While Shaw went to borrow Quinton's car keys, Howell, Ray and Lipsey had already gone outside. Howell still had the green shirt around his hand.
Shaw testified that he
carried Powell home first and then dropped Howell off at his house.
.9. Shaw then dropped off Lipsey and Ray.[ 2 Ray had returned his grandmother's car before they left for Blue Mountain.]2 When Shaw returned home, he discovered a gun in his backyard. Shaw convinced Lipsey and Ray to go with him to the police later that day to report what had happened. Officer Kent went behind Shaw's house and discovered a gun in the weeds in the backyard. Shaw testified that the gun was lying on top of a bag in the bushes when Officer Kent came to retrieve it.
.10. Lipsey testified that he was with Howell when he shot Pernell. On the evening of May 14, 2000, Lipsey was with Shaw and Ray when they picked up
Howell to go to Tupelo.
According to Lipsey, Howell indicated that he needed money to pay his probation officer.
While in Tupelo, Howell spotted a man outside at a payphone at a convenience store.
Howell stated that the man would be "a good lick."
.11. Lipsey further testified that after leaving Shaw's house, he was in the car with Ray and Howell when Howell reached over and blinked the
vehicle's lights at another vehicle
trying to make it stop. Howell got out of the vehicle trying to make the other vehicle stop.
Howell then went over to the other vehicle and began fighting with the man for about half
a minute. Howell pulled a gun and shot the man. Howell then jumped back into the vehicle
and went back to Shaw's house with Lipsey and Ray. Lipsey testified that Howell told them
that the man sprayed him in the face with mace, so he shot him.
.12. According to Lipsey, Howell woke Shaw when they got to Shaw's house. Lipsey testified that he and Ray remained in the living room while Howell
went to get Shaw. Shaw
carried Powell home first and then dropped off Howell. Lipsey saw Howell take a Wal-Mart sack out of the vehicle and put the gun in the sack. Lipsey did
not know what Howell
did with the gun.
.13. Lipsey testified that he went with Shaw and Ray to the police station later that day. He made two statements to the police. For his
participation in Pernell's murder, Lipsey pled
guilty to manslaughter and armed robbery, receiving a sentence of twenty years and ten
years, respectively, to run consecutively.
.14. Powell testified that on May 14, 2000, he initially arrived at Shaw's house around 8:00 p.m. Ray was already at Shaw's house when he arrived.
Ray and Shaw left together
to pick up Howell and Lipsey. All four returned to Shaw's house. Powell testified that
Howell stated that he needed to pay his probation officer or he was going to be locked up.
Shaw, Howell, Ray and Lipsey all left Shaw's home around 11:00 p.m. Powell borrowed
Quinton's vehicle to go to Pontotoc.
.15. Powell returned to Shaw's house in New Albany around 5:10 a.m. Powell was asleep on the couch when Howell, Lipsey and Ray came back to Shaw's
house. Ray sat on the
couch beside him. Howell went back to Shaw's bedroom. Powell testified that Shaw used
Quinton's vehicle to carry Howell and him home to Blue Mountain. Powell never saw
Howell with a gun, but Howell had a green shirt wrapped around his hand. Powell testified
that it was the same green shirt Howell had been wearing earlier. Powell was dropped off
at his home first.
.16. Dr. Steven Hayne (Dr. Hayne), state pathologist, conducted the autopsy on Pernell's body. Dr. Hayne testified that Pernell died from a gunshot
wound. The bullet entered the
chest cavity and traveled from Pernell's front left side through the body on an essentially
horizontal plane without deviation up or down and then traveled from front to back at
approximately 40 to 50 degrees. Once the bullet entered the chest cavity, it fractured the
fourth left rib. The bullet traveled through the left lung and the two chambers of the heart.
After the bullet traveled through the left ventricle and the left atrium, it went through the
aorta. The bullet left the heart and traveled from the aorta to enter the right lung. The bullet
struck the 7th posterior right rib on the right flank, fracturing that bone before it came to
rest. .17. The bullet caused extensive internal bleeding. There were one and one half quarts of blood in the right chest cavity, approximately one
and one half quarts of blood in
the left chest cavity, and one cup of blood in the structure that holds the heart's pericardial
sac. Dr. Hayne testified that blood displacement of that magnitude would create irreversible
shock that would cause death without immediate medical intervention. Dr. Hayne estimated
that irreversible shock would have occurred within five to ten minutes.
.18. Dr. Hayne retrieved the bullet and transported it under a chain of custody to the Mississippi State Crime Lab in Jackson to the firearms division
for analysis. Dr. Hayne
concluded the manner of death to be homicide due to a gunshot wound. On cross-examination, Dr. Hayne testified that there was no evidence of a struggle,
lacerations,
contusions or scratches. However, on redirect, Dr. Hayne testified that he could not
preclude the possibility of a struggle, only that there was no evidence of a struggle.
.19. Starks Hathcock (Hathcock), a forensic scientist specializing in firearms identification with the Mississippi Crime Lab, performed a ballistics
examination on the gun recovered
from Shaw's residence, the bullet retrieved by Dr. Hayne, and the cartridge case recovered
from the crime scene. Hathcock fired and retrieved bullets fired from the Larcin .380 caliber
handgun recovered from Shaw's residence to compare to the bullet recovered from Pernell's
body. Hathcock examined the class characteristics and individual characteristics to that
firearm. Hathcock concluded that the .380 caliber handgun recovered and submitted to the
crime lab was the firearm that fired the bullet recovered from Pernell. To examine the
recovered cartridge case, Hathcock compared the cartridge case to the markings on the
breach case of the firearm. Hathcock found that the markings on the cartridge case bore
class characteristics consistent with the firearms, but he did not find specific characteristics
consistent with that firearm to positively include or exclude it as being fired from that gun.
.20. On appeal, Howell raises the following issues for consideration by this Court:
I. Whether the trial court erred in denying a change of venue.
II. Whether the trial court erred in denying Howell access to county funds in order to employ an investigator, a jury
consultant, a daily transcript, and additional counsel to
assist with his defense.
III. Whether the trial court erred in failing to quash the jury panel.
IV. Whether the trial court erred in finding that the State's use of peremptory strikes did not violate Batson.
V. Whether the trial court erred in denying Howell's request for individual sequestered voir dire.
VI. Whether the trial court erred in limiting Howell's voir dire examination.
VII. Whether the trial court erred in admitting Rice's eyewitness identification testimony.
VIII. Whether the trial court erred in admitting Howell's statement.
IX. Whether the trial court erred in allowing witnesses to testify as to statements that Howell made.
X. Whether the trial court erred in allowing Shaw to testify as to statements made by co-defendant, Ray.
XI. Whether the trial court erred in refusing to allow Howell to re-cross-examine Shaw after the State's re-direct
examination.
XII. Whether the trial court erred in denying Howell's request for a directed verdict.
XIII. Whether the trial court erred in granting the State's instruction S-2, which referred to attempted robbery; and
whether Mississippi Code Annotated, Section 97-3-19 does
not specifically enumerated attempted robbery as an
underlying offense for conviction of capital murder.
XIV. Whether the trial court erred in granting the State's instruction S-6 which did not instruct the jury on simple murder and manslaughter;
and whether the trial court
erred in denying Howell's instructions D-13 and D-18 on the
crime of simple murder and manslaughter.
XV. Whether the trial court erred in denying instruction D-3 on the weight of the evidence.
XVI. Whether the trial court erred in denying instruction D-8 on the jury's consideration of testimony of a law enforcement
officer.
XVII. Whether the trial court erred in denying instruction D-16 as to cross-racial eyewitness identification.
XVIII. Whether the trial court erred in denying Howell's motion for a mistrial and renewed motion for change of venue
based upon a juror's father allegedly sitting on front row of
audience with victim's family.
XIX. Whether the trial court erred in allowing the district attorney, in closing argument, to refer to Howell's failure to
tell somebody about his alibi defense or give details.
XX. Whether the trial court erred in denying a twenty-four (24) hour "cooling off" period before the jury considered
sentencing.
XXI. Whether the trial court erred in the sentencing phase by allowing evidence of Howell's previous conviction for
possession of marijuana as an aggravating factor.
XXII. Whether the trial court erred in the sentencing phase by allowing evidence of fees due from Howell during his
probation as double use of the same robbery element and
pecuniary gain element in the guilt and sentencing phase.
XXIII. Whether the trial court erred in the sentencing phase by allowing the introduction of the indictment against Howell
on a charge of sale of controlled substance, marijuana.
XXIV. Whether the trial court erred in granting sentencing instruction S-2 because it allegedly removed the issue of
sympathy and mercy from consideration by the jury,
improperly listed aggravating factors of imprisonment and
pecuniary gain, and failed to instruct the jury on how to
properly weigh mitigating factor against aggravating facts
and define what mitigating and aggravating factors are.
XXV. Whether the trial court erred in denying Howell's sentencing instruction.
XXVI. Whether the trial court erred in the sentencing phase by allowing the district attorney to refer to the victim, Pernell,
his work, his loss, and what Pernell might say if he were still
alive.
XXVII. Whether the trial court erred in denying Howell's post-trial motion for a new trial.
XXVIII. Whether the imposition of the death penalty is excessive or disproportionate in this case.
DISCUSSION
I. Change of Venue
.21. Howell contends that the trial court erred by denying his request for a change of venue. Howell's motion was supported by six newspaper articles
: (1) dated May 16, 2000,
from the Tupelo Daily Journal, which described the crime, victim, and community reaction, but did not name Howell; (2) dated May 31, 2000, from the Tupelo
Daily Journal, which reported on a totally separate crime and briefly referred to this crime, but did not name
Howell; (3) dated May 17, 2000, from the Tupelo Daily Journal, which reported on the
arraignment of the three co-defendants and the details of the crime, contained pictures of the
three co-defendants, and stated that the court appearance was emotional for the victim's
family and the defendants' families; (4) dated May 17, 2000, from the Southern Sentinel, which reported the details of the crime; (5) dated May 17, 2000,
from the New Albany Gazette, which reported the details of the crime and contained pictures of the victim and the three co-defendants and was re-run on May
19, 2000; and (6) dated May 19, 2000, from the New Albany Gazette, which reported on the details of the crime, funeral preparations, and community reaction.
.22. Additionally, Howell submitted seven identical brief affidavits, which stated that Howell could not receive a fair and impartial trial in Union
County. Howell also introduced
a videotape of a WTVA television newscast. Although Howell did not submit his own
affidavit, as statutorily required, the trial court allowed Howell to state in the record his
desire for a change of venue.
.23. The State called four witnesses to testify in response to Howell's motion: (1) Tom Cooper (Cooper), Chancery Clerk of Union County; (2) Danny
Barnes (Barnes), Second
District Supervisor of Union County; (3) Thomas Stanford (Stanford), retired Circuit Clerk
of Union County; and (4) Norman Treadway (Treadway), Fourth District Supervisor of
Union County. Each witness testified that Howell could receive a fair and impartial trial in
Union County.
.24. Specifically, Cooper testified that in his capacity as chancery clerk he dealt with a wide assortment of people from all over Union County.
Prior to becoming chancery clerk,
Cooper had worked at the Union Grocery Company and served as Mayor of New Albany.
Cooper stated that he considered himself to be fairly well informed as to what is happening
in the county. Cooper testified that until he was contacted about testifying, it had been
several months since he had heard anything about Howell's case. Cooper had not personally
heard anybody threaten Howell, express ill will towards Howell or prejudice towards his
case.
.25. Barnes testified that he had lived in Union County for thirty-six years and knew a lot of people in the county both inside and outside of the
second district. Before becoming a
supervisor, Barnes had served as a policeman, a deputy sheriff and a constable. As a
member of the Board of Supervisors, Barnes testified that he had continuous dealings with
people in the county and considered himself to be a well-informed resident of Union County.
Barnes did not recall any media coverage concerning Howell's case since the days
immediately following Pernell's death. Barnes did not believe that Pernell was well known
within the county outside of New Albany. He had not heard any ill will expressed toward
Howell by people in his district.
.26. On cross-examination, Barnes testified that after Pernell's murder had first occurred, he had heard some comments within New Albany like "they
shouldn't be given a trial." On
redirect, Barnes testified that he believed that because of his law enforcement experience,
people would be more likely to ask him about the case or talk to him about the case.
However, people in his district had not talked to him about the case. No one had expressed
to him any opinion about how this case should "turn out."
.27. Stanford testified, that as the former circuit clerk for Union County, he dealt with a wide assortment of people and continued to stay in contact
with people all over the county.
At the time of the incident, people were concerned about the case and there was news
coverage. However, several days following Pernell's death, there was very little news
coverage. Stanford had not seen any newspaper articles in the last month before trial or any
recent news coverage. Stanford also testified about his experience as circuit clerk and that
the jury pool is selected randomly from the county's list of registered voters.
.28. On cross-examination, Stanford testified that he had heard people express sympathy for both the Pernell and Howell families. He knew Howell's
father, Reverend James Howell
(Rev. Howell), and thought a lot of the family. Stanford heard that Howell was on probation
for a drug-related offense when the incident occurred, but he could not testify as to whether
people out in the county had heard about a drug conviction.
.29. Treadway testified that he had been a supervisor in the eastern part of Union County since 1982. Initially there was some news coverage
concerning Pernell's death, but
Treadway had not read anything about it in the last two months before trial. Treadway heard
very little mention of Pernell's death in his part of the county. As supervisor for nineteen
years, Treadway knew a lot of people in Union County. Treadway had not heard anyone
express any ill will toward Howell or prejudgment of the case.
.30. The decision to grant a venue change rests in the sound discretion of the trial judge. Hoops v. State, 681 So.2d 521, 526 (Miss. 1996); Johnson v.
State, 476 So.2d 1195, 1208 (Miss. 1985); Winters v. State, 473 So.2d 452, 457 (Miss. 1985); Cabello v. State, 471
So.2d 332, 339 (Miss. 1985). This Court will not disturb the ruling of the trial court where the sound discretion of the trial judge in denying a change
of venue was not abused. Burrell v. State, 613 So.2d 1186, 1190 (Miss. 1993); Harris v. State, 537 So.2d 1325, 1328 (Miss. 1989); White v. State, 495 So.2d
1346, 1349 (Miss. 1986).
.31. In Davis v. State, 767 So.2d 986, 993 (Miss. 2000), this Court held that "[a] motion for change of venue 'must be in writing and supported by
affidavits of two or more credible
persons showing that the defendant cannot receive an impartial and fair trial in that
particular county because of prejudgment of the case or grudge or ill will to the defendant
in the mind of the public.'" (citing Hoops, 681 So.2d at 526).
.32. The right to a fair trial by an impartial jury is guaranteed by both the federal and state constitutions. Johnson, 476 So.2d at 1208 (citing U.S.
Const. Amend. VI and Miss. Const. art. 3, . 26)). "The accused has a right to a change of venue when it is doubtful that an
impartial jury can be obtained." Davis, 767 So.2d at 993 (citing White, 495 So.2d at 1348). "[U]pon proper application, there arises a presumption that
such sentiment exists; and, the
state then bears the burden of rebutting that presumption." Johnson, 476 So.2d at 1211.
.33. This Court enumerated "certain elements which, when present would serve as an indicator to the trial court as to when the presumption is irrebutable." White, 495 So.2d at 1349. The elements are as follows:
(1) capital cases based on considerations of a heightened standard of review;
(2) crowds threatening violence toward the accused;
(3) an inordinate amount of media coverage, particularly in cases of
(a) serious crimes against influential families;
(b) serious crimes against public officials;
(c) serial crimes;
(d) crimes committed by a black defendant upon a white victim;
(e) where there is an inexperienced trial counsel.
Id.; Davis, 767 So.2d at 993-94; Baldwin v. State, 732 So.2d 236, 241 (Miss. 1999); Burrell, 613 So.2d at 1189-90.
.34. In the case sub judice, Howell filed a motion for a change of venue accompanied by seven affidavits. He claims that the "alleged murder [of
Pernell] evokes great passion and
prejudice in this community." Howell's motion contended that a jury empaneled in a case
of an assaultive crime by blacks against whites in Union County, a largely rural, small
county with a majority white population, would follow a "long tradition" of convicting "on
almost any evidence to serve as a deterrent to blacks." Howell's motion stated that the
people of a largely rural county such as Union County would "naturally have fears and
apprehensions of murder cases." The trial court conducted a hearing on Howell's motion for
change of venue. Howell testified at the change of venue hearing that he thought that he
could not receive a fair trial in Union County.
.35. The State then had the burden of rebutting the presumption. See Johnson, 476 So.2d at 1211. In support of its position, the State called the
four witnesses, Cooper, Barnes,
Stanford and Treadway, to testify. None of the State's witnesses testified to having any
knowledge of any grudge or ill will toward Howell, threats against Howell or prejudgments
of the case. Within the last months prior to trial, none of the State's witnesses had heard any
publicity about the case. The State rested and Howell offered no additional evidence to
support his position. The trial court withheld ruling on the change of venue motion until it
could review a tape of a newscast and transcript of the newscast prepared by WTVA offered
by the defense and the affidavits filed to support Howell's motion. In denying Howell's
motion for change of venue, the trial court stated, "having considered the affidavits and
exhibits filed on behalf of the defendant and the testimony presented the [c]ourt finds that
the State has overcome the presumption raised by the filing of the affidavits seeking change
of venue...."
.36. Given the facts surrounding this issue, we find that Howell did not demonstrate an abuse of discretion by the trial court's denial of the motion
for change of venue. There was
no evidence offered of any threatened violence towards Howell, nor an inordinate amount
of media coverage. The testimony of the State's witnesses demonstrated that Howell could
receive a fair trial. Upon the conclusion of testimony from the State's witnesses, Howell
offered no additional evidence to rebut the State's witnesses and support his motion.
.37. Finally, Howell did not present any evidence that he could not or did not receive a fair trial from twelve jurors who heard his case. Because a
large number of the venire panel
had read about the case in the newspaper, the trial judge questioned the entire panel to
determine whether anyone had formed or expressed an opinion concerning the guilt or
innocence of Howell based on anything they may have read, heard or seen in the media. The
trial court informed the venire panel that if they had not already responded to the trial court's
prior questions concerning media coverage, they must respond at that time if anything they
had read, heard or seen would affect their decision. The trial court informed the panel that
their responses were being made under oath. No venire member responded that they had
formed or expressed an opinion as to Howell's guilt. No venire member expressed that they
had any personal knowledge of the case or had been pressured by anyone on how to vote.
"The linchpin is whether the venire members stated that they could be fair and impartial
jurors if chosen." Simon v. State, 688 So.2d 791, 803 (Miss. 1997). Based on the evidence in the record, we find that the trial court did not abuse its
discretion in denying the motion
for change of venue. Accordingly, this issue is without merit.
II. Failure to Grant Howell County Funds For His Defense
.38. Howell contends that the trial court erred in denying funds for his defense to hire: (1) an investigator; (2) a jury consultant; (3) limited
daily transcripts; (4) additional counsel;
and (5) additional psychiatric evaluation. At trial, Howell did not proceed as a pauper and
accordingly he did not have court-appointed counsel. Howell's attorney was retained and
chose to handle the case on a pro bono basis as a favor to Howell's father.
A. Investigator
.39. Terry Cox (Cox) conducted an investigation on Howell's behalf. Rev. Howell testified that Cox was employed and compensated from donations
received from friends.
Cox testified that his investigation was limited due to available funds. Howell's family was
having trouble paying for his services. Cox had primarily been able to interview the State's
witnesses, but he was not able to conduct any investigation into any possible mitigating
issues. The trial court denied Howell's motion for funds for an investigator. The trial court
stated that:
The court is of the opinion that there has not been any showing that the
defendant has been or is being denied a fair opportunity to present [its]
defense based on what the court has before it.
This issue is without merit.
B. Jury Consultant
.40. Howell further contends that the trial court erred in denying his request for a jury consultant. Rev. Howell testified that he did not have the
funds available to hire a jury
consultant to help pick Howell's jury. As pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Tippah
County for approximately twenty years, Rev. Howell did not have much contact with people
outside of his church. Furthermore, Howell's attorney asked the trial court to take notice that
he was not from Union County; and therefore, he would not be familiar with a venire panel
drawn from Union County. On cross-examination, Rev. Howell testified that he had a lot
of relatives in Union County, grew up in New Albany and also graduated from a school in
New Albany. Howell testified that besides the nine years that he lived in Starkville he had
lived in New Albany until 1998. The trial court denied Howell's motion for a jury
consultant.
.41. This Court has stated:
[T]he Fifth Circuit has recently held that the right of an indigent to a court- appointed psychiatric expert does not extend to a right to a jury-
selection
expert. Moore v. Johnson, 225 F.3d 495, 503 (5th Cir. 2000). There, the court noted that a "defendant cannot expect the state to provide him a most-
sophisticated defense; rather, he is entitled to 'access to the raw materials
integral to the to the building of an effective defense.'" Moore, 225 F.3d at 503 (citing Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68, 77, 105 S.Ct. 1087, 84 L.Ed.2d
53(1985)).
Grayson v. State, 806 So.2d 241, 255 (Miss. 2001) (emphasis added). .42. This Court has further analyzed an indigent's right to defense expenses to hire experts, stating:
An indigent's right to defense expenses is "conditioned upon a showing that such expenses are needed to prepare and present an adequate defense."
Ruffin v. State, 447 So.2d 113, 18 (Miss. 1984). Concrete reasons for requiring an expert must be provided by the accused. Hansen v. State, 592 So.2d
114, 125 (Miss. 1991).
In determining whether a defendant was denied a fair trial because of failure
to appoint or allow funds for an expert, some of the factors to consider are
whether and to what degree the defendant had access to the State's experts,
whether the defendant had the opportunity to cross-examine those experts, and
lack of prejudice or incompetence of the State's experts. Fisher v. City of Eupora, 587 So.2d 878, 883 (Miss. 1991). We have also considered to what
extent the State's case depends upon the State's expert, Tubbs v. State, 402 So.2d 830, 836 (Miss. 1981), and the risk of inaccuracy in resolving the
issue
for which the expert is requested. Johnson v. State, 529 So.2d 577, 592 (Miss. 1988).
Green v. State, 631 So.2d 167, 171-72 (Miss. 1994).
.43. Since Howell did not proceed as an indigent or have the trial court declare him to be an indigent, there is no authority to require the State to
fund his request for defense
expenses. Furthermore, based on this Court's holdings in Grayson and Green, Howell's argument that his father's lack of contact with Union County required
a jury consultant is
unpersuasive. This issue is without merit.
C. Limited Daily Transcripts
.44. Howell requested that the trial court make the county responsible for providing the defense with a copy of daily transcripts of the testimony of
co-defendants, Ray and Lipsey,
and the testimony of secondary witnesses, Shaw, Powell and Rice. The trial court stated:
The Court is not going to order that the county pay for it [daily transcripts].
But if you want to make some arrangements with Mrs. Fair [the court reporter]
that is between you and your client and Mrs. Fair.
.45. Howell was not precluded by the trial court from obtaining the daily transcripts nor did Howell demonstrate that he had been denied access to
daily transcripts by the court
reporter. Furthermore, Howell offers this Court no authority which requires the State to
furnish a criminal defendant with daily transcripts. We find no manifest injustice or any
abuse of discretion in the trial court's denial of Howell's request for daily transcripts. See Ruffin v. State, 481 So.2d 312, 314-15 (Miss. 1985) (trial
court did not abuse its discretion in denying an indigent defendant with a transcript of the prior trial which ended in mistrial).
D. Additional Counsel
.46. Howell also requested that the State furnish additional counsel to assist Howell's retained counsel in handling his case. Before denying
Howell's request for additional
counsel, the trial court requested supporting authority. Howell offered no authority to the
trial court, nor does Howell offer any authority on appeal. The trial court ruled:
I think you [defense counsel] are very good but, I don't know of any authority
this court would have to appoint somebody. So I'm going to deny your
motion.
.47. Furthermore, the record reflects that a second attorney, Jak Smith, assisted in Howell's case at various stages: voir dire, jury selection,
arguments involving evidentiary
matters, questioning of witness, arguments on jury instructions and closing arguments. Jak
Smith is also listed in Howell's certificate of interested persons as attorney for the
defendant/appellant.
.48. We find that the trial court did not err by refusing to furnish Howell a court-appointed attorney to assist his retained counsel. The
constitution does not require the appointment of
two attorneys in a case where the death penalty is involved. In Bell v. Watkins, 692 F.2d 999, 1009 (5th Cir. 1982), the court stated that "[a]lthough
Mississippi courts may
customarily appoint two lawyers in a capital case, the constitution dictates no such
requirement." This assignment of error is without merit.
E. Additional Psychiatric Examination
.49. Finally, Howell claims that the trial court erred in not allowing funding for additional psychiatric examination. Howell had already received,
by agreement between the parties,
a psychiatric examination from Dr. Louis Masseur (Dr. Masseur). Howell relies on Dr.
Masseur's comment in his notes that Howell suffered slight distortion of reality as to the
facts. Howell introduced a copy of Dr. Masseur's handwritten notes indicating what he
would charge for an additional hour on the mitigating factors. The trial court ruled that
based on what it had seen and heard, further funding for additional psychiatric examination
was not warranted.
.50. Howell cites Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68, 105 S.Ct. 1087, 84 L.Ed.2d 53 (1984), in support of his position. In Ake the United States Supreme
Court determined that "when a defendant demonstrates to the trial judge that his sanity at the time of the offenses to be a
significant factor at trial, the State must, at a minimum, assure the defendant access to a
competent psychiatrist who will conduct an appropriate examination and assist in evaluation,
preparation and presentation of the defense." 105 S. Ct. at 1096.
.51. We find that Howell's reliance on Ake is misplaced as he did not raise an insanity defense at trial. See Cole v. State, 666 So.2d 767, 781 (Miss.
1995). In Cole, the defendant's post-conviction relief appeal from the affirmance of his conviction and death
sentence relied upon Ake contending that he had been deprived due process and equal protection, as well as, his Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendment rights.
This Court determined
that since sanity was not an issue, Cole was not entitled to additional mental examination.
.52. This Court has considered a similar argument raised by an indigent defendant and held:
A defendant is not entitled to a psychological expert where he has not raised insanity as a defense or where the State does not plan to submit psychological evidence against the defendant. Ladner v. State, 584 So.2d 743, 757 (Miss. 1991); Nixon v. State, 533 So.2d 1078, 1096 (Miss. 1987). As we have stated, "[w]here a defendant offers no more 'than undeveloped assertions that the requested assistance would be beneficial,' no trial court is under an obligation to provide him with fishing equipment." Griffin v. State, 557 So.2d 542, 550 (Miss. 1990) (quoting Caldwell v. Mississippi, 472 U. S. 320, 323 n. 1, 105 S.Ct. 2633, 2637 n. 1, 86 L.Ed.2d 231 (1985)).
Bishop did not raise an insanity defense; he offered no facts which
would show that there was a need to develop mitigating evidence based on
psychological problems; and he underwent a thorough psychological
evaluation performed at the State Hospital which produced not mitigating
evidence.
We therefore find, that Bishop was not entitled to a psychological
expert for the purpose of developing mitigating evidence.
Bishop v. State, 812 So.2d 934, 939-40 (Miss. 2002).
.53. As Howell did not proceed as an indigent or raise insanity as a defense, we find that the trial court did not err in denying his request for
additional psychiatric examinations. This
assignment of error is without merit.
III. Jury Panel Selection
.54. Howell raises two arguments on appeal as to the selection process involved in composing the jury wheel used to draw Howell's
prospective jurors. The circuit clerk
testified that at the time of Howell's jury draw, the jury wheel consisted of 1,195 prospective
jurors. The jury wheel had originally consisted of the names of 3,000 qualified electors
selected from the roughly 16,200 qualified electors in Union County. Each time a jury panel
was selected, the circuit clerk removed those names from the wheel and they were not
available for selection at the next draw. Howell contends that the trial court erred by not
quashing the jury panel because he was denied a jury from a "fair cross section of the
community." However, Howell admits that the circuit clerk followed the procedure dictated
in Miss. Code Ann. .. 13-5-10 & -12 (Rev. 2002). Therefore, we find that the circuit clerk
clearly complied with the dictates of Miss. Code Ann. .. 13-5-10 and 13-5-12. This issue
is without merit.
.55. Howell next contends that prohibiting the selection of jurors under the age of 21 years old pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. . 13-5-1 (Rev. 2002)
constitutes intentional discrimination
against persons who are 18 to 20 years old.
.56. This Court has repeatedly rejected this argument.
This Court has previously considered the exclusion of persons under age 21 from jury service and has consistently held that the exclusion does not violate the state or federal constitution. Turner v. State, 573 So.2d 657, 666 (Miss. 1990), rev'd on other grounds; Irving v. State, 498 So.2d 305, 319 (Miss. 1986), cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1042, 107 S.Ct. 1986, 95 L.Ed.2d 826 (1987); Fermo v. State, 370 So.2d 930, 934 (Miss. 1979); Joyce v. State, 327 So.2d 255, 261 (Miss. 1976); Johnson v. State, 260 So.2d 436, 437 (Miss. 1972).
Milano v. State, 790 So.2d 179, 188 (Miss. 2001). See Jordan v. State, 786 So.2d 987, 1024 (Miss. 2001). Therefore, we find that this argument is also
without merit. The circuit
clerk properly followed the statutes of this State in drawing and selecting Howell's jury.
IV. Batson
.57. Howell contends that the trial court erred by allowing the State to exercise its peremptory challenges on two black members of the venire, namely
Juror 34 (High) and
Juror 68 (Wade). The record reflects that the State exercised a total of 12 peremptory
challenges, 11 on the jury panel and 1 on the alternates. The jury was selected, and the trial
court recessed for lunch.
.58. Howell did not raise a contemporaneous objection to the State's use of its two peremptory challenges as to Juror 34 and 68. However, the record
indicates that, prior to
resuming court and empaneling the jury, Howell's counsel requested "that the State provide
race neutral reasons for disqualifications of two jurors (Jurors 34 and Juror 68) under
Batson." The record reflects the following exchange occurred:
State: Your Honor. I don't know if they made out a prima facia case of racial discrimination. Nevertheless without
waiving our argument. I would state as our reason to
first of all there are only three African American
remaining on the entire panel. I exercised 12 strikes, two
of which were of African American. First strike that I
exercised was on juror number 34. He was a black male
Lavorigia High, [J]unior. Mr. High has had several
arrests here actually on his jury questionnaire he has had
a recent public drunk and he is the Highs and the Fosters
are related. He didn't state anything about being related.
That is information that I have gathered from some of
the law enforcement. And the main reason is when I left
here two weeks ago from the 60 motions that we went
through some woman ran into me. It happened in front
of Mr. High's house. Mr. High's brother came out and
he was first one out there. Mr. High was out there and
I believe they saw the wreck but when I sent the officers
over there the brother stayed outside and you can see
him inside the screen and he wouldn't tell them that he
saw it. So that is our reasons for having striken him.
The Court: Let me hear you on your next one. The other one was.
The Court: Number 68.
State: Anthony Wade. Anthony Wade is an African American. Who put down on his jury questionnaire that he had
never been arrested for a crime when I have right here
warrants that were issued for receiving stolen property
out of Lee County where he was arrested. Yes, here is
a copy of his arrest record of Anthony Wade in Lee
County for receiving stolen property. There were some
guns in that case arose out of stolen here in Union
County that wound up in the possession of Anthony
Wade and he did not state that he had been arrested.
And I have the arrest record here available. You can
make it a part of this record so therefore we believe that
he was not forth coming in his jury questionnaire and
that his criminal activity would prevent him from being
a fair and impartial juror. And that was our main reason
for striking him but also I assume defense counsel would
have striken him because he testified that if the county
coroner Mark Golden testified he would follow his
testimony.
The Court: All right. The court is satisfied of the race neutral reasons even though I don't think there has been any pattern of racial
discrimination. But I think it would be sufficient. Anything
else before we go now.
.59. A reversal will only occur if the factual findings of the trial judge appear to be "clearly erroneous or against the overwhelming weight of the
evidence." Tanner v. State, 764 So.2d 385, 393 (Miss. 2000) (citing Stewart v. State, 662 So.2d 552, 558 (Miss. 1995)); Davis v. State, 551 So.2d 165, 171 (
Miss. 1989). "On appellate review, the trial court's determinations under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69
(1986), are accorded great deference because they are based, in a large part, on credibility."
Coleman v. State, 697 So.2d 777, 785 (Miss. 1997) (citing Lockett v. State, 517 So.2d 1346, 1349 (Miss. 1987)). The term "great deference" has been defined
in the Batson context as meaning an insulation from appellate reversal any trial findings which are not clearly erroneous. Lockett v. State, 517 So.2d at
1349.
.60. In Batson, the United States Supreme Court held that a peremptory challenge cannot be used to exclude venire-persons from jury service based on
their race. Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 89, 106 S.Ct.1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986). A peremptory challenge based on race constitutes a violation of equal
protection. Id. at 98.
.61. The necessary steps to resolve a peremptory challenge based upon Batson are cited in Stewart v. State, 662 So.2d 552, 557-58 (Miss. 1995), as
follows:
1. The party objecting to the peremptory challenge must first make a prima facie showing that race was the criteria for the exercise of the
peremptory challenge.
2. If this initial showing is successful, the party desiring to exercise the challenge has the burden to offer a race-neutral explanation for
striking
the potential juror.
3. The trial court must then determine whether the objecting party has met their burden to prove there has been purposeful discrimination in the
exercise of peremptory challenges.
To establish the first prong, a prima facie case under Batson, the objecting party must show (1) that he/she is a member of a "cognizable racial group," (2)
the prosecutor has exercised
peremptory challenges toward the elimination of prospective jurors of his race, and (3) the
facts and circumstances raised an inference that the prosecutor used his peremptory
challenges for the purpose of striking minorities. Conerly v. State, 544 So.2d 1370, 1376-77 (Miss. 1989).
.62. In the case sub judice, a review of the record demonstrates that the State provided race neutral reasons for striking juror 34 and 68. Great
deference is afforded to a trial court's
ruling. Therefore, this issue is without merit.
V. Individual Sequestered Voir Dire
.63. Howell contends the trial court erred in denying his request to conduct individual sequestered voir dire of prospective jury members who had read
articles or seen information
about the case on television. Howell wanted to question these prospective jurors as to their
knowledge of any facts concerning the "alleged" robbery and Howell's previous drug
conviction that appeared in newspaper articles. The trial court concluded that Howell's
counsel had questioned the prospective jurors 13, 85, 88, 106, 126, 127, 146 and 153 at
issue, who indicated they had heard about the case.
.64. Howell's counsel had generally questioned them as to whether they would have to hear strong evidence to contradict what they had seen or heard.
The trial court took a recess.
In chambers, Howell's counsel requested individual sequestered voir dire. The trial court
ruled that Howell's counsel could ask more narrow questions in general voir dire in order
to elicit the information.
.65. Furthermore, each juror had completed juror questionnaires which asked questions to determine if they had ever heard of Marlon Howell or his
family; Adam Ray or his family;
and Curtis Lipsey or his family. The questionnaires asked the jurors to "[p]lease explain
what you know about" each of these individuals. Therefore, each juror had been
individually questioned as to any prior knowledge of Howell.
.66. More importantly, the record further reflects that prospective jurors 13, 85, 88, 106, 126, 127, 146 and 153 in question did not end up serving
on the jury. Jurors 13, 88 and 126
were excused for cause at Howell's request. At the time of the request for individual
sequestered voir dire, juror 106 had already been excused from the panel. After the request,
the parties agreed to strike juror 85. Jury selection did not reach jurors 127, 146 and 153.
They did not serve on the jury or as alternates, and they were never tendered for possible
service on the jury.
.67. This Court has held that voir dire "is conducted under the supervision of the court, and a great deal must, of necessity, be left to its sound
discretion." Ballenger v. State, 667 So.2d 1242, 1250 (Miss. 1995) (citing Morgan v. Illinois, 504 U.S. 719, 729, 112 S.Ct. 2222, 2230, 119 L.Ed.2d 492 (
1992), citing Ristaino v. Ross, 424 U.S. 589, 594, 96 S.Ct. 1017, 1020, 47 L.Ed.2d 258 (1976)) (quoting Connors v. United States, 158 U.S. 408, 413, 15 S.Ct.
951, 953, 39 L.Ed. 1033 (1895)). See also Foster v. State, 639 So.2d 1263, 1274 (Miss. 1994). This Court has stated that the trial court should take a
substantial role in
conducting Witherspoon voir dire of the venire panel in capital cases. Ballenger v. State, 667 So.2d at 1250; see Hansen v. State, 592 So.2d 128-29; Lockett
v. State, 517 So.2d at 1335.
.68. Rule 3.05 of the Uniform Circuit and County Court Rules addresses voir dire examination of jurors: In the voir dire examination of jurors, the attorney will question the entire venire only on matters not inquired into by the court. Individual jurors may be examined only when proper to inquire as to answers given or for other good cause allowed by the court. No hypothetical questions requiring any juror to pledge a particular verdict will be asked. Attorneys will not offer an opinion on the law. The court may set a reasonable time limit for voir dire.
.69. "A jury selection procedure which gives the defendant 'a fair opportunity to ask questions of individual jurors which may enable the defendant to
determine his right to
challenge that juror' is proper." McLemore v. State, 669 So.2d 19, 25 (Miss. 1996) (quoting Peters v. State, 314 So.2d 724, 728 (Miss. 1975)).
.70. "The trial court has broad discretion in passing upon the extent and propriety of questions addressed to prospective jurors." Stevens v. State,
806 So.2d 1031, 1062 (Miss. 2001). See also McGilberry v. State, 741 So.2d 894, 912 (Miss. 1999); Davis v. State, 684 So.2d 643, 651-52 (Miss. 1996);
Jones v. State, 381 So.2d 983, 990 (Miss. 1980).
.71. We find nothing in the record that supports Howell's contention that the trial court erred by denying his request to conduct individual
sequestered voir dire. None of the
prospective jurors whom Howell sought to individually voir dire actually served on the jury
that was seated. Finally, Howell presents no evidence of any harm or prejudice which
resulted because of the denial for individual voir dire. See Stevens, 806 So.2d at 1054. This issue is without merit.
VI. Voir Dire Examination
.72. During voir dire, Howell sought to question jurors as to whether or not they had ever seen or heard of police officers "puffing up" or giving
untrue testimony about the facts of
a case. The State objected to this line of questioning which was sustained by the trial court.
The "puffed testimony" question was proposed to Juror 153 (Whiteside). The question
posed by the defense did not involve the facts of the case sub judice.
.73. Next, Howell questioned Juror 98 (Nobles) about his feelings against the death penalty and the type of cases in which he might vote for the death
penalty. The State
objected to the question, and it was sustained by the trial court. Howell finally questioned
the jurors concerning whether they believed mercy should be a factor in considering a death
penalty sentence. The State objected to this question, and the objection was sustained by the
trial court.
.74. The only authority provided by Howell in support of his argument, that the trial court erred in restricting voir dire of the jury panel, is the
general concept that the trial court has
the responsibility to control the voir dire process. Howell cites Mack v. State, 650 So.2d 1289, 1304 (Miss. 1995), which states, "[t]rial courts have a
responsibility to control voir
dire but in doing so they must take care not to hinder a full exploration of a juror's
predisposition by hypothetical or otherwise." (citing Dennis v. United States, 339 U.S. 162, 171, 172, 70 S.Ct. 519, 523-524, 94 L.Ed. 734 (1950)).
.75. Voir dire "is conducted under the supervision of the court, and a great deal must, of necessity, be left to its sound discretion." Ballenger v.
State, 667 So.2d at 1250-51 (citing Morgan v. Illinois, 504 U.S. at 729). See also Foster v. State, 639 So.2d at 1274. "The standard of review in examining
the conduct of voir dire is abuse of discretion." Jackson v. State, 791 So.2d 830, 835 (Miss. 2001). Further, "[a]buse of discretion will only be found
where a defendant shows clear prejudice resulting from undue lack of constraint on the
prosecution or undue constraint of the defense." Id. at 835-36 (citing Davis v. State, 684 So.2d at 652). "A jury selection procedure which gives the
defendant 'a fair opportunity to
ask questions of individual jurors which may enable the defendant to determine his right to
challenge that juror' is proper." Stevens, 806 So.2d at 1062.
.76. It is evident from the record that the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in sustaining the State's objection to Howell's three proposed
questions. More importantly,
however, is the fact that Howell was not harmed in any way by the trial court's rulings.
None of the prospective jurors to whom the first two questions were directed actually served
on the jury.[ 3 Neither of the jurors whom Howell sought to question actually served on the jury. As stated previously, the jury selection never
reached Juror 153 (Whiteside) so he was never tendered to the defense.
Additionally, Juror 98 (Nobles) was tendered as an alternate and struck by the defense.]3
.77. Lastly, the third question, concerning mercy, was directed to the entire venire panel. "This Court has repeatedly held that 'capital defendants
are not entitled to a mercy
instruction.'" Goodin v. State, 787 So.2d 639, 657 (Miss. 2001) (citing Jordan v. State, 728 So.2d at 1099)). "The United States Supreme Court has held
that giving a jury instruction
allowing consideration of sympathy or mercy could induce a jury to base its sentencing
decision upon emotion, whim, and caprice instead of upon the evidence presented at trial."
Goodin, 787 So.2d at 657. Accordingly, we find that since this Court has held that the jury is not entitled to be instructed to give mercy, then there is
no error in the trial court's decision
to disallow questioning prospective jurors on voir dire as whether they would provide mercy
in sentencing.
.78. The record does not indicate that the trial court abused its discretion or that Howell was denied a fair opportunity to conduct voir dire on any
relevant issue. As such, Howell's
arguments on this point are clearly without merit.
VII. Identification of Howell and Illegal Arrest
.79. Howell contends that Rice's eyewitness identification should have been suppressed as the lineup was suggestive. The record reflects that a
pretrial hearing was conducted on
Howell's motion to suppress the identification testimony.
.80. Rice testified that on the morning in question, he was in his living room watching television while he was getting ready for work. He heard a
car horn, went to the window
and pulled back the blinds. Rice had described the lighting conditions as "[p]re-dawn."
Rice talked to Officer Kent at the scene that morning. He had identified the shooter as
wearing a plaid flannel jacket that was open with a light colored t-shirt underneath and a pair
of blue jeans. He did not notice the shooter's shoes.
.81. Later that morning, at the police station, Rice gave a statement to Officer Kent and Chief Grisham. Rice stated that the shooter was wearing a
red and black plaid flannel shirt.
Howell contends that Rice misidentified him as wearing a long sleeve plaid red and black
shirt as opposed to the green short sleeve shirt described by other witnesses. Rice told the
police that the shooter was a black male. Rice left the police station and returned later that
day to participate in a lineup upon being informed that three people had been arrested.
.82. According to Rice, none of the officers gave a description of the defendant or made any suggestions as to his identity. Rice testified that
there was nothing about the lineup that
was suggestive. Rice described the lineup as follows:
I was in the small office with a desk and couple of chairs and I was kind of
sitting on the edge of the desk squatting against it. There was a small
window, yay high, yay wide and they told me that the men would be brought
out one at a time. Take my time and if I can identify the gentleman that I saw
the morning prior to let them know. When they came out they came out, said
they would phase (face) me. Turn sideways and leave and then they would
bring the next one out. They brought a total of six. But I didn't need to see
all six them. When I saw the third person of the line up which was Mr.
Howell, I identified him at that time.
When Rice proceeded to view the six people in the lineup, he identified Howell as the
shooter.
.83. Chief Grisham testified that the lineup was composed of six, young, black males, who were inmates. They were selected by a computer program to
help choose similar size, race,
age, and things of that nature. No one pressured Rice to identify Howell. Rice was not
shown any photographs prior to the lineup.
.84. Chief Grisham's testimony at trial reflected that the other five subjects in the lineup were Dominique Cannon, 6', 130 pounds; Robert Antron Carr,
5'10", 135 pounds; Romaro
Dixon, 6', 145 pounds; Brad Marion, 6', 160 pounds; Robert Harris, 6'2", 185 pounds.
Howell's arrest sheet reflects him to be 6'2", 175 pounds. However, Chief Grisham did place
in the case file a photographic display of the people in the lineup. The picture was taken in
an adjacent room, prior to the time the participants went into the lineup room. Two or three
of the individuals in the lineup were as tall as Howell. Chief Grisham did not observe that
Howell was the only one wearing tennis shoes.
.85. The picture showed six young, black men, all of whom are wearing street clothes. The feet of four of the six people in the lineup appear in the
photograph. Of those four,
Howell was the only one wearing sneakers. The other three men in the picture wore socks
and sandals. Howell claims that the height, weight, skin tone and hair of the other people
in the lineup were different than his appearance.
.86. Rice specifically testified that he was not able to see the feet of the people in the lineup. The window that he was looking through "was up off
the floor" and he was looking
at people's faces. Rice testified that he did not pay attention to what they were wearing.
.87. Howell was represented by a local attorney, Regan Russell (Russell), who was present at the lineup. Officer Kent was also present in the viewing
room with Rice and Russell.
Chief Grisham was not in the viewing room at the time the lineup was conducted.
.88. After hearing this evidence and related argument, the trial court denied the motion to suppress, concluding that the lineup was proper and not
tainted or suggestive.
.89. In White v. State, 507 So.2d 98, 99-100 (Miss. 1987), this Court in upholding a lineup where the defendant was the only person with plaited hair,
stated that:
In York v. State, 413 So.2d 1372 (Miss. 1982), this Court reviewed United States Supreme Court decisions addressing due process violations predicated
on impermissibly suggestive lineups. The Court said:
An impermissibly suggestive pretrial identification does not
preclude in-court identification by an eyewitness who viewed
the suspect at the procedure, unless: (1) from the totality of the
circumstances surrounding it (2) the identification was so
impermissibly suggestive as to give rise to a very substantial
likelihood of irreparable misidentification.
Even if testimony is proffered of the out-of-court identification
itself, the same standard exists as to the above, with the
omission of the word "irreparable."
In determining whether these standards are fulfilled, Neil v. Biggers states the following may be considered:
... the opportunity of the witness to view the
criminal at the time of the crime, the witness'
degree of attention, the accuracy of the witness'
prior description of the criminal, the level of
certainty demonstrated by the witness at the
confrontation, and the length of time between the
crime and the confrontation.
409 U.S. at 199, 93 S.Ct. at 382.
In the final analysis, under Manson v. Brathwaite, "reliability is the linchpin in determining the admissibility..."
York, 413 So.2d at 1383. See Foster v. State, 493 So.2d 1304 (Miss. 1986) (Foster was the only member of the lineup wearing a distinctive fishing hat,
and the Court rejected Foster's contention that the lineup was impermissibly
suggestive); Jones v. State, 504 So.2d 1196 (Miss. 1987), (Jones was the only person in a photograph display wearing a cap similar to the one worn by
the
rapist, and the display was not so suggestive as to be impermissible).
.90. In Neil v. Biggers, 409 U.S. 188, 199, 93 S.Ct. 375, 382, 34 L.Ed.2d 401 (1972), the U.S. Supreme Court set out five factors to be considered in
determining whether a lineup
is impermissibly suggestive:
1. The opportunity of the witness to view the criminal at the time of the crime.
2. The witness's degree of attention.
3. The accuracy of the witness's prior description of the criminal.
4. The level of certainty demonstrated by the witness at the confrontation.
5. Length of time between the crime and the confrontation.
See White, 507 So.2d at 100.
.91. When the lineup is considered in light of the Biggers factors, it is evident that: (1) Rice's view of the shooter was brief[ 4 Rice testified
that it was "pre dawn," but he could see. Both vehicles had their lights on. The lights of the rear vehicle were shining on the shooter. The neighborhood
was "well lit." There was a
streetlamp right across the street from Rice's house and one at the end of the block. Rice's neighbor had a
porch light on. Rice's view was unobstructed.]4; but, (2) he was paying very close attention, once he realized that a shooting had taken place; (3) he
accurately described Howell as a young,
clean cut, black male; (4) he was absolutely certain of Howell's identity when he saw him
in the lineup; and (5) the lineup took place a little over 24 hours after the shooting. See Biggers, 409 U.S. at 199.
.92. Howell was represented by counsel throughout the lineup procedure. Furthermore, the jury was instructed on how to consider eyewitness identification.[ 5 Instruction S-8 provided, in pertinent part:
Identification testimony is an expression of the belief or impression by the witness. You
must judge its value and reliability from the totality of the circumstances surrounding the
crime and the subsequent identification. In appraising identification testimony of a witness,
you should consider the following:
1. Did the witness have an adequate opportunity to observe the offender?
2. Did the witness observe the offender with an adequate degree of attention?
3. Did the witness provide an accurate description of the offender after the crime?
4. How certain is the witness of the identification?
5. How much time passed between the crime and the identification?
If, after examining all of the testimony and the evidence, you have a
reasonable doubt that Marlon Latodd Howell was the person who
committed the crime, then you must find Marlon Latodd Howell is not
guilty.
The defense indicated that this was a "good" instruction. The jury's verdict demonstrates how it resolved any
issues about the identification.]5 Under the totality of the circumstances, there is no likelihood whatsoever, that Rice's identification was not
reliable. See Biggers, 409 U.S. at 199, 93 S.Ct. at 382; York, 413 So.2d at 1383. Furthermore, this Court has repeatedly held that "the jury is the final
arbiter of a witness's
credibility." See Williams v. State, 794 So.2d 1019, 1028 (Miss. 2001); Morgan v. State, 681 So.2d 82, 93 (Miss. 1996). The jury alone determines the
weight and worth of any
conflicting testimony. Hicks v. State, 812 So.2d 179, 194 (Miss. 2002). Rice's credibility as a witness at trial rests with the jury. Therefore, we find
that this issue is without merit.
.93. Additionally, Howell contends that the identification was the result of an alleged illegal arrest. Howell alleges that the Field Officer's
Warrant or "blue warrant" under which
he was arrested was invalid.
.94. Probation and Parole Officer Nance testified that the New Albany Police Department called him on the evening of May 15, 2000, to inquire whether
the Mississippi Department
of Corrections (MDOC) had a picture of Howell. Nance checked Howell's file and
discovered that Probation and Parole Officer Mullins had entered a warrant for Howell's
arrest into the computer, but Officer Mullins had not signed the warrant. Officer Nance
telephoned Officer Mullins, and the record reflects that the following transpired:
I asked [Mullins] if we could go get the warrant, asked him if he had sent a
copy of it to the Sheriff's department which he had not at that time to the best
of my knowledge and asked if we could go ahead and get the warrant and
serve it on him and go ahead and place him under arrest of the D O C for the
violation that he had listed on his warrant. He said that will be fine, go ahead
and get it. Chad Glasson, New Albany police officer and I went to the Tippah
County Officer, looked in the file, found the warrant that Mr. Mullins had
typed up. He had not signed the warrant but he had issued the warrant. I
turned around and copied the warrant exactly as he had it. Put my name down
there as the field officer and signed it. That way we would have truly valid
warrant. That is the only reason that I issued the warrant instead of Chuck
Mullins because he had not signed the warrant.
.95. Officer Nance further explained that:
The administrative authority we have as field officers have the right to issue
a field officer[']s warrant for a violation of probation, terms and conditions.
We are to get a judge[']s warrant as soon as possible after the field officers
warrant is issued. The reason that I signed it instead of Chuck [Mullins] is
because he had not signed the field officer[']s warrant hisself. He had issued
it, typed in his name but just had not signed it.
.96. The warrant charged that Howell had violated his probation by "failure to avoid injurious or vicious habits, fail[ure] to pay supervision fees,
fail[ure] to pay for positive
urine screen fail[ure] to pay court ordered monies." Shortly after the warrant was issued,
Howell was arrested and transported to the New Albany Police Department. The arrest
warrant from Justice Court Judge Ronnie Rakestraw was obtained around noon on May 16,
2000.
.97. The trial court ruled "that the arrest was in fact proper and that there wasn't anything illegal about it." Howell contends that Officer Nance
did not have authority to sign the
warrant which rendered an illegal arrest. Howell alleges that Officer Nance had no personal
knowledge of the circumstances in the warrant.
.98. Officer Nance clearly had the legal authority to issue the warrant. The applicable statute provides in pertinent part as follows:
Any probation and parole officer may arrest a probationer without a warrant,
or may deputize any other officer with power of arrest to do so by giving him
a written statement setting forth that the probationer has, in the judgment of
the probation and parole officer, violated the conditions of probation. Such
written statement delivered with the probationer by the arresting officer to the
official in charge of a county jail or other place of detention shall be sufficient
warrant for the detention of the probationer.
Miss. Code Ann. . 47-7-37 (Rev. 2000). Accordingly, we find that this issue is wholly
without merit.
VIII. Howell's Statement
.99. As a continuation of issue VII, Howell contends that the statement he gave to the police on May 15, 2000, at approximately 9:30 p.m. should have
been suppressed. The
record reflects that Howell was read a waiver-of-rights form at 9:29 p.m., and he signed the
waiver at 9:31 p.m. Howell argues that since his arrest was illegal, because Officer Nance
signed the "blue warrant," the statement should have been suppressed. Finding that the
arrest was proper, the trial court denied Howell's motion to suppress.
.100. As issue VII concluded that Howell's arrest was in fact valid, this issue is without merit. Therefore, we find that the trial court did not err
in denying Howell's motion to
suppress his statement given to the police.
IX. Howell's Statements Made to Other Witnesses
.101. Howell alleges that the trial court erred by allowing co-defendant, Lipsey, and witnesses, Shaw and Powell, to testify that he stated that he
needed money to pay his
probation officer. Howell contends that the statements attributed to Howell constituted
hearsay and that the probative value of admitting the statement does not outweigh the
prejudicial effect to his case. Howell claims that the State was allowed to bring his prior
convictions in through the backdoor through the testimony of Lipsey, Shaw and Powell
since Howell did not testify.
.102. The State offered witness testimony regarding statements attributed to Howell in order to demonstrate a possible motive for Pernell's murder. M.
R.E. 404(b) provides in part:
Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show that he acted in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes such as proof of motive...
The State contends that Howell's motive for killing Pernell was to obtain money to pay his
probation officer in order to remain out of jail.
.103. This Court has consistently allowed the admission of other crimes to prove intent. See Hill v. State, 797 So.2d 914, 917 (Miss. 2001) (where
this Court found that evidence of defendant's arrest was properly introduced to establish a possible motive for murder);
Sumrall v. State, 758 So.2d 1091, 1095 (Miss. 2000); Burns v. State, 729 So.2d 203, 222 (Miss. 1998); Warren v. State, 709 So.2d 415 (Miss. 1998); Hunt v.
State, 538 So.2d 422 (Miss. 1989); Jenkins v. State, 507 So.2d 89 (Miss. 1987); Duplantis v. State, 644 So.2d 1235 (Miss. 1994); Smith v. State, 499 So.2d
750 (Miss. 1986); Ballenger v. State, 667 So.2d at 1242; Conner v. State, 632 So.2d 1239, 1273-74 (Miss. 1993) (where this Court found that evidence
relating to cocaine use was used to establish motive for crime rather
than to show bad character).
.104. The State further cites Burns v. State, 729 So.2d 203, 220-22 (Miss. 1998), in support of its position. In Burns, the defendant argued that the trial court erred by allowing a witness to refer to the defendant's own statements about a prior crime. The witness testified that Burns had committed the murder because he "did not want to go back to the pen." Id. at 220. Pursuant to M.R.E. 404 (b), this Court concluded that the testimony was "admissible to show motive - that Burns killed [the victim] so that he could not be identified and be sent back to the penitentiary...." Id. at 221-22.
.105. However, relevant evidence may still be excluded. In Foster v. State, 508 So.2d 1111, 1117 (Miss. 1987), this Court held:
Relevant evidence may still be excluded if its probative value is substantially
outweighed by danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or
misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or
needless presentation of cumulative evidence. Miss.R.Evid. 403. Thus, a trial
court presented with Rule 403 objection to relevant evidence must engage in
a balancing process. The more probative the evidence is, the less likely it is
that a 403 factor will be of sufficient consequence to substantially outweigh
the probative value...
To tip the scale is not enough. The 403 factors must, in the language of the rule, "substantially outweigh" probative value before the evidence may be excluded. The trial court is afforded broad discretion in weighing these interests. United States v. Chalan, 812 F.2d 1302 (10th Cir. 1987); Brumley Estate v. Iowa Beef Processors, Inc., 704 F.2d 1351 (5th Cir. 1983), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1028, 104 S.Ct. 1288, 79 L.Ed.2d 690 (1984).
.106. We find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the testimony. The record clearly reflects that any prejudice from
admitting the testimony does not substantially
outweigh the probative value of allowing the testimony to establish Howell's motive and
intent.
.107. Finally, Howell argues that the trial court should have provided a limiting instruction informing the jury as to witness credibility. The record
reflects that the State offered a
limiting instruction, jury instruction S-9, which was given by the trial court. Jury instruction
S-9 provided:
The Court instructs you that any evidence you may have heard regarding a
witnesses' or the defendant's character or bad acts may not be considered by
you to prove the character of the defendant in order to show that he acted in
conformity therewith on the occasion alleged in the indictment. You may
consider this evidence only for the purpose of proof of motive, intent,
knowledge, absence or mistake or accident.
See McGilberry v. State, 741 So.2d at 913 ("juries are presumed to follow the instructions given to them by the court"). See also Johnson v. State, 475 So.
2d 1136, 1142 (Miss. 1985) (juries are to follow instructions "To presume otherwise would render the jury system
inoperable."). For all the foregoing reasons, we find that this assignment of error is without
merit.
X. Testimony by Shaw Regarding Statement made by Ray
.108. Howell contends that the trial court erred in allowing Shaw to testify that Ray told him, "Marlon [Howell] had shot somebody." The record
reflects that Ray, Howell, and
Lipsey fled to Shaw's house, immediately following the shooting. Shaw's testimony on the
State's direct examination was as follows:
State: When did you know -- what made you know that Adam [Ray], Curtis [Lipsey] and Marlon Howell had returned to your house?
Shaw: Because I heard a loud noise. Somebody bumping like somebody was running through the house or whatever.
State: They were running through the house?
Shaw: Um-huh.
State: What did you do then?
Shaw: My girlfriend got up she was fussing. She asked me what was going on and that is when Adam [Ray] came knocking on the
door and I got up and went to the door.
State: Did you get out of the bed and go when you say to the door or your bed room [sic] door?
Shaw: My bed room [sic] door.
State: What happened when you went to the bed room [sic] door?
Shaw: Adam [Ray], he was all hysterical and everything. He said that Marlon [Howell] had shot somebody.
Defense: Your Honor, we object to the statement.
The Court: Sustained.
State: Where was Marlon Howell at when Adam Ray came to your door?
Shaw: Standing in the front living room.
State: In the front room?
Shaw: Yes, sir.
State: In what tone of voice was Adam Ray talking?
Shaw: Like he was scared.
State: Was Marlon Howell positioned so that he could hear what Adam was saying?
Shaw: Yes, yes, sir.
State: Did Adam [Ray], did Marlon Howell hear what Adam Ray had to say?
Shaw: Yes, sir.
Defense: Your Honor, we again object to that.
The Court: It's overruled. He can answer go ahead.
State: When Adam Ray came to your door what did Adam Ray say?
Defense: Your Honor, we again object to that.
The Court: It's overruled. He can answer go ahead.
State: When Adam Ray came to your door what did Adam Ray say?
Shaw: He said Marlon had shot somebody.
State: What did you do at that time?
Shaw: I ran out of the room and I asked I thought they were playing. I said no he didn't. I said are y'all for real. He said yes, he is for
real?
State: Who said yes he is for real?
Shaw: Curt [Lipsey].
State: Was Marlon Howell present when Curt [Lipsey] said that?
Shaw: Yes, sir.
State: What else if anything did Curt [Lipsey] say about the situation?
Shaw: He didn't really say too much of nothing. They all look like he this real scared and Marlon [Howell] he was standing right there
in the front room with us too.
State: What else did Adam [Ray] have to say?
Shaw: He didn't really say nothing just looking scared.
State: Did Marlon Howell say anything?
Shaw: He told me he said I need to get to Blue Mountain. He said I need you to take me to Blue Mountain right now.
State: Wanted you to carry him to Blue Mountain right now. Where was Marlon standing at when he was saying that?
Shaw: In the front room with all of us.
State: Was he doing anything at the time?
Shaw: He had a green shirt wrapped like around his hand pulled up under his arm like this right here.
State: So he was standing in your living room with the shirt wrapped around his hand under his arm like this?
Shaw: Yes, sir.
State: What did you do?
Shaw: I was trying to figure how I was going to get him to Blue Mountain. I really didn't want to take him. I didn't want him to
endanger me or my family or anyone that was in the house.
State: Were you scared at that time?
Shaw: Yes, sir....
State: What did you do then?
Shaw: He then jumped in the car with his and we headed off and rushed to Blue Mountain.
State: What now?
Shaw: He then jumped in the car with us and we rushed off to Blue Mountain.
State: Where did you go in Blue Mountain first?
Shaw: We took Marlon [Howell] home.
State: Marlon [Howell] say anything on the way to Blue Mountain or when he got there?
Shaw: Nobody was saying anything. I was just trying to hurry up and get him down there.
State: Once you got to Blue Mountain did anybody say anything then?
Shaw: He said don't tell nobody. Y'all don't need to tell nobody.
State: When you say he said don't tell nobody. You don't need to tell anybody, who said that?
Shaw: Marlon [Howell].
.109. We find that Shaw's testimony did not constitute hearsay pursuant to M.R.E. 801(d)(2)(B) which provides:
(d) Statements Which Are Not Hearsay. A statement is not hearsay if:
(2) Admission by Party-Opponent. The statement is offered against a party and is ... (B) a statement of which he has
manifested his adoption or belief in its truth...
In Manning v. State, 726 So.2d 1152, 1180 (Miss. 1998), this Court basically defined "the common law version" of M.R.E. 801(d)(2)(B) finding that:
[S]tatements made by a third person, which tend to incriminate an accused, are
admissible so long as they are made in the presence of the accused and are not
contradicted, denied, nor objected to by the accused.
Manning, 726 So.2d at 1180 (quoting Jolly v. State, 269 So.2d 650, 656 (Miss. 1972)). See also Jones v. State, 367 So.2d 458 (Miss. 1979) (affirming "
adoptive admission" where bystander said, "he's the one that done the shooting" and the accused replied, "Yeah, and I'll
get you as soon as I get out of this mess").
.110. In the case sub judice, Ray's statement was made in Howell's presence. Howell did not contradict, deny or object to the statement Ray made to
Shaw. Shaw's testimony
provided that Howell was present when the statement was made and did not dispute the
statement. In fact, Howell then requested that Shaw drive him home "right now" and told
Shaw that "y'all don't need to tell nobody [sic]." Shaw testified that he was afraid of Howell.
Shaw testified that he feared for his safety and the safety of his family if he did not comply
with Howell's request.
.111. We find that the record reflects that the trial court did not err in allowing Shaw to testify about Ray's statement. The statement clearly
amounts to an "adoptive admission"
pursuant to M.R.E. 801(d)(2)(B). See Manning, 726 So.2d at 1180.
.112. In the case sub judice, the State presented testimony from Rice, who positively identified Howell as the shooter and the testimony of Lipsey, co-
defendant, who identified
Howell as the person who shot Pernell. We find that this assignment of error is meritless.
XI. Re-Cross Examination
.113. Howell contends that the trial court erred by refusing to allow re-cross examination to be conducted by the defense. Howell argues
that the trial court's ruling "left the jury with
the impression Shaw had no pending criminal charges when he gave his statement to the
District Attorney's office." We find that the record reflects that Howell's assertion is
meritless. The following exchange occurred on the record:
Cross Examination by the Defense:
Defense: Mr. Shaw, have you been promised anything to testify?
Shaw: No, sir.
Defense: Have you been given any leniency on any criminal matters?
Shaw: No, sir.
Defense: You have not?
Shaw: No, sir.
Defense: Do you have pending criminal matters before the district attorney's office?
Shaw: I have some charges, against me.
Defense: Those are charges that existed on the day you went down there and gave this statement to the police, isn't it?
Shaw: Yes, sir.
Defense: And you have not been prosecuted or brought to trial since have you?
Shaw: No, sir.
Defense: Court indulge me one second.
The Court: All right, sir.
Defense: We tender the witness.
The Court: Any redirect, Mr. Luther.
Re-Direct Examination by the State:
State: I will try to cover this as it came along probably working backwards. You were asked about criminal charges pending
against you. What were you charged with doing?
Shaw: Grand larceny.
State: What was that of?
Shaw: That was some stuff consisted on the rail road.
State: Steel on the rail road?
Shaw: Yes, sir.
State: So you are charged with taking some steel off the rail road tracks?
Shaw: Yes, sir.
State: When was that charge brought?
Shaw: About I was about 15 or 16 then.
State: You were 15 or 16?
Shaw: Yes, sir.
State: I believe that was a '98 charge isn't it?
Shaw: Yes, sir.
State: '98. I believe you entered the pretrial diversion program; didn't you?
Shaw: Yes, sir.
State: Where and when did you enter the program?
Shaw: I think I was about 18 then.
State: So I believe that program consisted of if you did not get in any more trouble you wouldn't have a felony record; is that right?
Shaw: Yes, sir....
State: Have you been promised anything for your testimony today?
Shaw: No, sir.
State: Has the police or district attorneys or anything else even discussed your prior charges with you?
Shaw: Prior charges towards what.
State: The incident about taking the steel off the rail road track?
Shaw: No, sir.
State: Is that any consideration of your testimony here today?
Shaw: No, sir.
Defense: Please the court, I need to ask him one question about the issue he brought up about why he is not being prosecuted.
The Court: You did not object to it as being improper.
Defense: I don't think it was improper, Your Honor, but he has left the impression that I think it needs to be cleared up.
The Court: I don't. It's overruled....
.114. The trial court stated that for the record that Howell never objected to the State's line of re-direct questioning concerning Shaw's pending
criminal charges as being improper.
The trial court did not conclude that the jury was left with a false impression of Shaw's
criminal charges. Shaw testified that he had charges pending when he talked to the District
Attorney's office. Shaw further testified that his criminal charges were not discussed and
he received no promises or any leniency in exchange for his testimony.
.115. In Whitehurst v. State, 540 So.2d 1319, 1325-26 (Miss. 1989), this Court stated:
Hubbard v. State, 437 So.2d 430, 434 (Miss. 1983), sets out rather clearly that "re-cross examination is not allowable as a matter of right, but a
matter of trial
court discretion." The defendant's argument that his valuable right of cross-examination was bridled, based on Edge v. State, 393 So.2d 1337 (Miss.
1981), and Miskelley v. State, 480 So.2d 1104 (Miss. 1985), avails him none. Edge dealt with surrebuttal testimony, and Miskelley dealt with cross
examination. Thus, these cases are factually distinguishable.
Hubbard is authority for the proposition that it is proper to deny re-cross examination "where there is no claim of oversight and no reason stated why the matter was not inquired into on" cross examination. 437 So.2d at 434.
.116. Furthermore, this Court held in Sullivan v. State, 749 So.2d 983, 991 (Miss. 1999):
Mississippi has adopted the Corpus Juris Secundum standard for re-cross examination of witnesses: "It is proper to exclude questions as to matters which were not opened up or brought out on redirect examination, or as to matters already fully covered or discussed at length on cross-examination, where there is not claim of oversight and no reason stated why the matter was not inquired into on the cross-examination proper." Hubbard v. State, 437 So.2d 430, 434 (Miss. 1983) (quoting 98 C.J.S. Witnesses . 429). In this case, Sullivan does not allege that he was deprived of his constitutional right to confront witnesses testifying against him. That right is protected by both constitutional and case law. See Shaffer v. State, 740 So.2d 273 (Miss. 1998) (citing Hamburg v. State, 248 So.2d 430, 434 (Miss. 1971)).
.117. From a review of the record and this Court's precedent related to re-cross examination, we find that Howell's allegation that the trial court
erred in declining to reopen
cross-examination is without merit.
XII. Directed Verdict
.118. Howell contends that the State presented insufficient evidence to prove the underlying felony of robbery and, therefore, the charge of capital
murder. In Knox v. State, 805 So.2d 527, 530 (Miss. 2002), this Court stated:
When reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, this Court looks to all of the
evidence before the jurors to determine whether a reasonable, hypothetical
juror could find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant is guilty.
Jackson v. State, 614 So.2d 956, 972 (Miss. 1993). All of the evidence must be considered in the light most favorable to the verdict, and the credible
evidence consistent with guilt must be accepted as true. Gleeton v. State, 716 So.2d 1083, 1087 (Miss. 1998) (citing Franklin v. State, 676 So.2d 287,
288 (Miss. 1996); Wetz v. State, 503 So.2d 803, 808 (Miss. 1987)). "The prosecution must be given the benefit of all favorable inferences that may
reasonably be drawn from the evidence." Id.
.119. Miss. Code Ann. . 97-3-19(2)(e) defines capital murder as:
(2) The killing of a human being without the authority of law by any means or in any manner shall be capital murder in the following cases:
(e) When done with or without any design to effect death, by any person engaged in the commission of the crime of
rape, burglary, kidnapping, arson, robbery, sexual
battery, unnatural intercourse with any child under the
age of twelve (12), or nonconsensual unnatural
intercourse with mankind, or in any attempt to commit
such felonies.
Furthermore, Miss. Code Ann. . 97-3-73 (Rev. 2000) defines robbery as:
Every person who shall feloniously take the personal property of another, in
his presence or from his person and against his will, by violence to his person
or by putting such person in fear of some immediate injury to his person, shall
be guilty of robbery.
.120. The evidence in the record indicates that when Howell got in the car with Shaw, Lipsey and Ray that night, Howell "explained to [them] that he
needed some money to pay
his probation officer." According to Lipsey, Howell "just got in the car and it was like he
needed some money or else [they] weren't going to see him any more after that night, to pay
his probation officer."
.121. In addition, Powell testified that on that night Howell stated that he "needed to pay the probation officer." Howell told Powell "that he was
going to have to pay his probation
officer. They were going to lock him up." Howell said that "he needed to make a sting for
some money ...." That night while driving around Tupelo, Howell observed a man standing
outside a closed service station and stated that "there go [sic] an easy lick right there."
.122. Howell was identified as the shooter by both an independent witness, Rice, and by co-defendant, Lipsey. According to Lipsey, Howell reached
inside Pernell's car, and there
was some "scuffling or fighting." Howell "had his arm in the man[']s window doing
something with him." This lasted about a half a minute. Then, Howell pulled away from the
car and raised his hands in the air, jumped back and fired the gun shooting Pernell.
.123. Lipsey stated that when Howell returned to the car, Howell stated that "the man sprayed him in the face with some mace so he shot him." Lipsey
did not smell mace or see
tears in Howell's eyes. The police found a large amount of change on the floorboard of the
driver's side of the victim's car.
.124. A jury's finding of fact is not to be overturned when there is credible evidence in the record for which the jury could have reasonably inferred
the offense or unless the verdict
was clearly against the overwhelming weight of the evidence. Bailey v. State, 785 So.2d 1071, 1075 (Miss. 2001); Groseclose v. State, 440 So.2d 297, 300 (
Miss. 1983). There is no doubt that there is ample evidence in the record that a reasonable person could infer
Howell's intent to rob Pernell.
.125. It was within the jury's province to draw reasonable inferences from facts based on experience and common sense. Lewis v. State, 573 So.2d 719,
723 (Miss. 1990). Inferences for the motive of robbery have been accepted by this Court when they are reasonable. See Swinney v. State, 829 So.2d 1225,
1236 (Miss. 2002) (it may be reasonably inferred that the robbery was interrupted, and the motive was robbery); Duplantis v. State, 708 So.2d 1327, 1342 (
Miss. 1998) (the jury apparently drew this inference from the facts, and we accept the
jury's finding). The jury considered the facts and circumstances after listening to the witnesses then rendered its verdict. The verdict should not be
disturbed. The evidence was
sufficient to support the verdict. We find this assignment of error to be without merit.
XIII. Jury Instruction S-2
.126. Continuing from issue XII, Howell next contends Miss. Code Ann. . 97-3-19 does not specifically enumerate attempted robbery as an underlying
offense for the conviction of
capital murder. As such Howell argues that the underlying offense of attempted robbery
violates his Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Specifically, Howell asserts that:
To allow the trial court to insert attempted robbery as an aggravating factor when it is not specifically set out by statute allows the Court to expand the aggravating circumstances enumerated by MCA . 97-3-19. The aggravating circumstances perform the constitutional necessary function of providing a meaningful basis for distinguishing the few cases in which the death penalty is imposed from many cases in which it is not. See Godfrey v. Georgia, 446 U.S. 420, 427, 428 (1980).
.127. Howell further states that "by allowing the use of attempted robbery, the trial court has extended the narrow parameters of the Mississippi
capital murder statute Miss. Code
Ann. . 97-3-19." Miss. Code Ann. . 97-3-19(2)(e) provides the list of underlying crimes
that can elevate murder to a capital offense. Miss. Code Ann. . 97-3-19(2)(e) further
includes "any attempt to commit such felonies" within the statutory provision. Miss. Code
Ann. . 97-3-19 (2)(e) defines capital murder as follows:
The killing of a human being without the authority of law by any means or in
any manner.... When done with or without any design to effect death, by any
person engaged in the commission of the crime of rape, burglary, kidnapping,
arson, robbery, sexual battery, unnatural intercourse with any child under the age of twelve (12), or nonconsensual unnatural intercourse with mankind,
or in any attempt to commit such felonies.
Miss. Code Ann. . 97-3-19 (2)(e) (emphasis added).
.128. We find that Howell's argument is clearly not supported by the language of Miss. Code Ann. . 97-3-19(2)(e). Furthermore, in Willie v. State, 585 So.2d 660, 674 (Miss. 1991), the defendant raised similar arguments as the case at hand:
Willie argues that his conviction must be reversed because (1) the jury
returned a general verdict of guilty without specifying whether it found that
Willie killed Joe Clardy while Willie robbed or attempted to rob Joe Clardy,
and (2) the jury was instructed over Willie's objection that it could find
Willie's objection that it could find Willie guilty of capital murder if it found
that Willie killed Joe Clardy while engaged in the commission of attempted
robbery.
We previously considered Willie's argument in Culberson v. State, 379 So.2d 499 (Miss. 1979), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 986, 101 S.Ct. 406, 66 L.Ed.2d 250
(1980). In Culberson, we found that reference to subsection 2(e) of Miss. Code Ann. . 97-3-19 and the statutory language, "engaged in the commission
of," was sufficient to put a defendant on notice that he could be charged with
the commission or the attempt to commit the constituent felony of robbery. Culberson, 379 So.2d at 503-04. Finding nothing new in Willie's argument,
we affirm our decision in Culberson.
Id. See also Harris v. State, 445 So.2d 1369, 1370-71 (Miss. 1984). In Harris, this Court held:
In Mississippi both an attempt to take and an actual taking of another's personal property against his will by violence to his person or by putting
such
person in fear of immediate injury to his person by exhibition of a deadly
weapon constitutes robbery.
Id.
.129. Howell contends the trial court erred in granting jury instruction S-2 which contained the language "attempt to take." Jury instruction S-2
provided:
THE COURT instructs the jury that if you find from the evidence in
this case beyond a reasonable doubt that:
(1) The defendant, Marlon Latodd Howell, did, on or about the 15th day of May, 2000, unlawfully, willfully and feloniously, attempt to take the
personal property of Hugh David Pernell; and,
(2) The defendant, Marlon Howell, attempted to take the personal property from the person of Hugh David Pernell and against the will
of the said Hugh David Pernell; and,
(3) The defendant, Marlin [sic] Latodd Howell, attempted to take the property by violence toward Hugh David Pernell by shooting the said
Hugh David Pernell with a pistol; and,
(4) At the time, Marlon Latodd Howell had the intent to permanently deprive Hugh David Pernell of the property,
then you shall find that the defendant Marlon Latodd Howell, was engaged in
the commission of the crime of robbery as contemplated by Jury Instruction
Number S-1.
If the State of Mississippi has failed to prove any one or more of these
elements beyond a reasonable doubt, then you shall find that the defendant,
Marlon Latodd Howell, was not engaged in the commission of the crime of
robbery as contemplated by Jury Instruction Number S-1.
.130. As discussed, we find that Howell's assignment of error is without merit. Based on the language of Miss. Code Ann. . 97-3-19 (2)(e), we also
find that the trial court did not
err in granting jury instruction S-2.
XIV. Instructions D-13, D-18, S-3
.131. Howell argues that the trial court erred by failing to grant jury instructions for simple murder and manslaughter. The trial court gave jury
instruction S-6 as a form of the verdict
jury instruction. Instruction S-6 provided:
The Court instructs the jury that all twelve (12) of you must agree on
any verdict that is returned in this case.
The verdict of the jury should be written upon a separate sheet of clean
paper, need not to be signed by you, and should be in one of the following
forms, to-wit:
1) If you find from the evidence in this case, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant, Marlon Latodd Howell, is guilty of capital murder
upon Hugh David Pernell as charged under the indictment, then the
form or your verdict should be:
"We, the jury, find the defendant, Marlon Latodd Howell, guilty
of capital murder as charged under the indictment."
2) If you find the defendant, Marlon Latodd Howell, not guilty of capital murder, then the form of your verdict should be:
"We, the jury, find the defendant, Marlon Latodd Howell, not
guilty of capital murder under the indictment."
.132. The State withdrew its jury instruction S-3 on simple murder, citing a lack of evidence presented to support such an instruction. Instruction S-
3 provided:
The Court instructs the jury that if the evidence warrants it, you may
find the defendant, Marlon Latodd Howell, guilty of the lesser crime of
"simple murder."
However, notwithstanding this right, it is your duty to accept the law
as given to you by this Court, and, if the facts and the law warrant a
conviction of the crime of "capital murder" as charged in the indictment, then
it is your duty to make such finding uninfluenced by your power to find the
defendant guilty of a lesser offense.
This provision is not designed to relieve you from the performance of
an unpleasant duty. It is included to prevent a failure of justice if the evidence
fails to prove the original charge but does justify a verdict for the lesser
offense.
.133. Howell's proposed instruction D-13 submitted both a simple murder and a manslaughter instruction. However, Howell requested to submit S-3 on
simple murder,
combined with his own instruction on manslaughter.
.134. The State argued that the evidence did not support an instruction on either simple murder or manslaughter. Specifically, the State pointed out that an instruction for simple murder was not proper, as this was a premeditated murder which occurred during the course of a robbery. Furthermore, the State noted that an instruction for manslaughter was not proper in the light of the fact that Howell presented an alibi defense. Howell filed a notice of his alibi defense which stated that at the time of the offense he was at his home in New Albany, Mississippi, and listed James Howell and Miriam Howell as alibi witnesses.
.135. Instruction D-13 provided:
If you fail to find the defendant, Marlon Howell, guilty of capital
murder, then you should continue your deliberations to consider the elements
of the felony crime of simple murder. If you find from the evidence in this
case beyond a reasonable doubt that Marlon Howell on or about May 15,
2000, in Union County, Mississippi, killed David Pernell, a human being in
the commission of an act imminently dangerous to others and evidencing a
depraved heart, regardless of human life, without authority of law, even
though the defendant had no premeditated design to affect the death of any
particular individual, then you should find the defendant, Marlon Howell,
guilty of murder. If the State has failed to prove any one or more of these
elements beyond a reasonable doubt, then you should find the defendant, Marlon Howell<, not guilty of murder.
If you fail to find the defendant, Marlon Howell, guilty of simple
murder, then you should continue your deliberations to consider the elements
of the felony crime of manslaughter.
If you find from the evidence in this case beyond a reasonable doubt
that:
1. Marlon Howell on or about May 15, 2000, in Union County, Mississippi;
2. Killed David Pernell;
3. By gunshot; and
4. Marlon Howell was negligent or act with wanton disregard for human life, and the negligence was so gross as to be tantamount to a wanton disregard of, or utter indifference to the safety of human life; and
5. Such negligence or wanton disregard, if any, directly caused the death of David Pernell, then you shall find the defendant guilty of
manslaughter.
If the prosecution has failed to prove any one or more of the above
listed elements beyond a reasonable doubt, then you shall find the defendant
not guilty.
.136. The trial court refused jury instructions D-13 and S-3 after the following exchange transpired on the record:
Defense: Now 13 is the one that ... pertains to the simple murder and I think the State's S-3 that was previously submitted and
withdrawn would be a better instruction on the simple murder.
However, the last paragraph concerning the felony of
manslaughter we would ask that that be joined with S-3 or if the
court determines that manslaughter is not proper then we are
submitting that simple murder is proper. I don't want a
commingle with what manslaughter and the other and have
them both effectively removed. I think it's a case by case
situation.
State: We object to both request for a murder and manslaughter instruction. We object to a simple murder instruction and we
object to a man slaughter instruction because neither of those
instructions are supported by the evidence. We don't we
couldn't prove simple murder if we wanted to. We don't have
any. We don't have any intent. The murder to prove a simple
premeditated murder. So, that is why I say that it's not a
murder. This instruction is not supported by the facts of this
case. They didn't know the victim so obviously he didn't have
any other then to rob them and kill him other than the robbery
motive. So therefore we are saying that there is not evidence of
premeditation and deliberate design which is a necessary
element to prove simple murder. Whereas the evidence is
sufficient to prove capital murder. And I believe the same thing
would go for a manslaughter instruction if the instruction they
have submitted is based upon negligence, gross culpable
negligence manslaughter. We disagree that they should be
entitled to that instruction because if you are committing the
crime of armed robbery and regardless of whether it's
negligence or whatever, whatever this case is whether it's with
or with out deliberate design and you kill some one you are
guilty of capital murder and not manslaughter.
Defense: Judge, I agree with him but the point that I think is going to be argued strongly by us is there is no proof of a robbery.
The Court: They are putting their burden on that.
Defense: But then they say well there is no proof of a robbery but we think he shot this man what is the jury going to do then.
State: Their defense is not that this man shot him. There defense is alibi.
Defense: We are entitled to bring up whatever defenses we want. Mr. Rice testified there was absolutely nothing to believe there was
a robbery going on. This jury can find that this man was there
and did shoot Mr. Rice. But that, I mean Mr. Pernell but based
on Mr. Rice's testimony there was no robbery going on and
therefore whatever for whatever reason he shot him it's
manslaughter.
The Court: I'm going to refuse the instruction....
.137. Howell also submitted jury instruction D-18, a simple murder instruction, which was also refused by the trial court. Instruction D-18 provided:
The Court instructs the jury that if you find the defendant, Marlon
Latodd Howell, not guilty of "capital murder" as charged in the indictment,
then you should continue your deliberation to determine whether the
defendant, Latodd Howell, has committed the lesser crime of "simple
murder."
The crime of "simple murder" is distinguished from the crime of "capital murder" by the absence of, or by the failure of the State to prove, the following element of the offense of "capital murder," to wit:
the defendant, Marlon Latodd Howell, did kill the said Hugh
David Pernell at a time when the said Marlon Latodd Howell
was engaged in the commission of the crime of robbery of the
said Hugh David Pernell.
THEREFORE, if you find from the evidence under this case beyond
a reasonable doubt that:
1) Hugh David Pernell was a living human being; and
2) the defendant, Marlon Latodd Howell, did kill the said Hugh David Pernell in Union County, Mississippi, on or about the 15th day of May,
2000; and
3) the defendant, Marlon Latodd Howell, acted unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously, without authority of law, and with the deliberate design to effect the death if Hugh David Pernell, then you shall find the defendant, Marlon Latodd Howell, guilty of capital murder.
If you fail to find the defendant, Marlon Howell, guilty of simple
murder, then you should continue your deliberations to consider the elements
of the felony crime of manslaughter.
If you find from the evidence in this case beyond a reasonable doubt
that:
1. Marlon Howell on or about May 15, 2000, in Union County, Mississippi;
2. Killed David Pernell;
3. By gunshot; and
4. Marlon Howell was negligent or acted with wanton disregard for human life, and the negligence was so gross as to be tantamount to a
wanton disregard of, or utter indifference to the safety to human life;
and
5. Such negligence or wanton disregard, if any, directly caused the death of David Pernell, then you shall find the defendant guilty of
manslaughter.
If the prosecution has failed to prove any one or more of the above
listed elements beyond a reasonable doubt, then you shall find the defendant
not guilty.
.138. On appeal, Howell specifically argues that:
The jury could have found and returned the lesser-included offense of simple
murder or manslaughter. The fact remains that if this jury had believed
Howell approached Pernell's vehicle to sell him drugs and was sprayed in the
face with mace by Pernell in reaction, then they could have returned a
conviction on manslaughter. The [c]ourt's failure to instruct the jury on the
lesser included offense of simple murder and manslaughter was error. The
jury as instructed had no choice but either to turn Howell loose or convict him
of [c]apital murder...
.139. However, we find that Howell's argument that the trial court erred by not granting instructions S-3, D-13 and D-18 as to both simple murder and
manslaughter, is contradicted
by the evidence in the record. The facts of this case clearly do not support or warrant such
instructions. In Presley v. State, 321 So.2d 309, 310 (Miss. 1975), this Court said:
The method of submitting an instruction dealing with a lesser-included
offense varies with each case. In some cases it may be sufficient simply to
point out that the lesser offense is the same except for the absence of some
specific element. In others it may be necessary to include all the essential
elements of the included offense as was done for the principal charge.
However, the jury should not be instructed as to a lesser-included offense in
such a way as to ignore the primary charge as this would be confusing to the
jury. It is also true that if the evidence does not justify submission of a lesser-included offense, the court should refuse to do so. Unwarranted
submission
of a lesser offense is an invitation to the jury to disregard the law.
See Grace v. State, 375 So.2d 419, 420 (Miss. 1979).
.140. We find that this assignment of error is without merit.
XV. Instruction D-3, Weight of Evidence
.141. Howell argues that the jury should have been instructed as to the weight and quality of the evidence. Specifically, Howell contends that the
trial court erred in refusing his
proposed jury instruction D-3, which provided:
Each person testifying under oath is a witness. You have the duty to determine the believability of the witnesses. In performing this duty, you must consider each witness' intelligence, the witness' ability to observe and accurately remember, the witness' sincerity, and the witness' demeanor while testifying. You must consider also the extent the witness is either supported or contradicted by other evidence; the relationship the witness may have with either side; and how the witness might be affected by the verdict. You must consider any evidence of the witness' character for truthfulness.
In weighing a discrepancy by a witness or between witnesses, you
should consider whether it resulted from an innocent mistake or a deliberate
falsehood, and whether it pertains to a matter of importance or an unimportant
detail.
You may reject or accept all or any part of a witness' testimony and you may reject part and accept other parts of a witnesses' [sic] testimony.
After making your own judgment, you will give the testimony of each witness the credibility, if any, as you may think it deserves.
The weight of the evidence is not necessarily determined by the number
of witnesses testifying as to the existence or nonexistence of any fact. You
may find that the testimony of a smaller number of witnesses as to any fact is
more credible than the testimony of a larger number of witnesses to the
contrary.
.142. In Humphrey v. State, 759 So.2d 368, 380 (Miss. 2000), this Court stated:
Jury instructions are to be read together and taken as a whole with no one jury
instruction taken out of context. A defendant is entitled to have jury
instructions given which present his theory of the case, however, this
entitlement is limited in that the court may refuse an instruction which
incorrectly states the law, is covered fairly elsewhere in the instructions, or is
without foundation in the evidence.
(citing Heidel v. State, 587 So.2d 835, 842 (Miss. 1991)). See also Austin v. State, 784 So.2d 186, 193 (Miss. 2001).
.143. Instructions that comment on the weight of the evidence are not proper. Id. at 193. Specifically, instructions that direct jurors' attention to
the quality or weight of the evidence
have been condemned by this Court. See Hentz v. State, 489 So.2d 1386, 1387 (Miss. 1986).
.144. Through Instruction C-1, the trial court instructed these jurors were the sole judges of credibility in this case. Instruction C-1 further
stated the jury had the exclusive province
to determine what weight and credibility to assign the testimony and supporting evidence
of each witness.
.145. The jury was also instructed to view the evidence as a whole when determining whether reasonable doubt existed. Instruction D-2 further provided
that:
The [c]ourt instructs the jury that you are bound in deliberating upon this case,
to give the defendant the benefit of any reasonable doubt of the defendant's
guilt that arises out of the evidence or want of evidence in this case. It is only
when, after examining the evidence on the whole, you are able to say on your
oaths, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant is guilty that the law will
permit you to find him guilty. You might be able to say that you believe him
to be guilty, and yet, if you are not able to say on your oaths, beyond a
reasonable doubt, that he is guilty, it is your sworn duty to find the defendant
"Not Guilty."
.146. Additionally, the jury was instructed to view the accomplice testimony with suspicion and distrust. Instruction D-5 provided as follows:
The [c]ourt instructs the jury that the law looks with suspicion and distrust on
the testimony of an alleged accomplice and requires the jury to weigh the
same with great care, caution, and suspicion. You should weigh the testimony
from alleged accomplices, and passing on what weight, if any, you should
give this testimony, you should weigh it with great care and caution, and look
upon it with distrust and suspicion.
.147. The jury was further instructed that they could disregard testimony contradicted by inconsistent evidence. Instruction D-7 provided as follows:
In determining the credibility of particular testimony, you should also
consider the extent to which the testimony was impeached. A witness may be
impeached by disproving the facts to which the witness testified; by proof of
general bad character; and by proof of contradictory or inconsistent prior
statement or statements made by the witness. To access [sic] the importance
of inconsistency or contradictory testimony or statements you should
determine:
1. If such testimony is given or if such statements were made;
2. Whether they are in fact in consistent [sic] with or contradictory to the witness' present testimony; and
3. Whether or not the testimony or statements are material to the witness' testimony in the case.
If you find that a witness has been impeached by proof of previous
contradictory or inconsistent testimony or statements, you may disregard that
testimony. You may also consider that impeachment as being relevant to your
determination of the weight to be afforded the balance of the witness'
testimony.
.148. "A trial judge is under no obligation to grant redundant instructions. The refusal to grant an instruction which is similar to one already given
does not constitute reversible
error." Montana v. State, 822 So.2d 954, 961 (Miss. 2002). "The refusal to grant an instruction which is similar to one already given does not constitute
reversible error." Id. In Bell v. State, 725 So.2d 836 (Miss. 1998), this Court stated that:
The trial judge is under no obligation to grant redundant instructions. Davis v. State, 568 So.2d 277, 280-81 (Miss. 1990). Indeed, to do so can only create confusion and make it more difficult for the jury to understand the charge. When the instructions are read as a whole, as indeed they must be, we find no error in the refusal of these specific requested instructions.
Bell, 725 So.2d at 849-49.
.149. We find that the record reflects that Howell was given numerous jury instructions on their role in gauging witness credibility. The jury was
given instructions D-2, D-5 and D-7
which advised them how to view the evidence as a whole, accomplice testimony and
inconsistent statements or testimony. Howell's instruction D-3 was properly denied. This
issue is without merit.
XVI. Instruction D-8, Testimony of Law Enforcement Officer
.150. Howell contends that the trial court erred in denying proposed jury instruction, D-8, which provided:
The testimony of a law enforcement officer should be considered by you just
as any other evidence in the case. In evaluating his or her credibility you
should use the same guidelines which you apply to the testimony of any
witness. In no event should you give greater or lesser credence to the
testimony of any witness merely because he or she is a law enforcement
officer.
.151. This Court has soundly and repeatedly rejected this argument:
Austin argues that the trial court erred by refusing his request for "level
playing field" jury instruction-that is, one that noted that the testimony of a
police officer is not entitled to greater weight than any other witness. The
requested instruction would have advised the jury that:
The testimony of a law enforcement officer should be
considered by you just as any other evidence in the case. In
evaluating his or her credibility you should use the same
guidelines which you apply to the testimony of any witness. In
no event should you give either greater or less credence to the
testimony of any witness merely because he or she is a law
enforcement officer.
The trial court refused the instruction because it was duplicitous of another
instruction that had already been granted.
This Court has previously held that the very same instruction offered by
Austin was properly refused. See Stewart v. State, 355 So.2d 94, 96 (Miss. 1978); Washington v. State, 341 So.2d 663, 664 (Miss. 1977). The Court
recently reiterated its stance in Hansen v. State, 592 So.2d 114, 139 (Miss. 1991), noting that the trial court had given the jury the following
general
instruction:
As sole judges of the facts in this case, your exclusive province
is to determine what weight and what credibility will be
assigned the testimony and evidence of each witness in this
case. You are required to use your common sense and sound
honest judgment in considering and weighing the testimony of
each witness who has testified in this case.
Id. at 140. This same instruction was granted in the case sub judice. Hansen further stated that:
Our law of criminal procedure has long perceived dangers in
comments upon the evidence, and in that regard we have for
years had a statute, Miss. Code Ann. . 99-17-35 (1972), which
reads in pertinent part: The judge in any criminal cause, shall
not sum up or comment on the testimony, or charged the jury as
to the weight of evidence.... It is certainly true that of late our
attitude toward comments upon the evidence may have relaxed, see Nichols v. Munn, 565 So.2d 1132, 1136-37 (Miss. 1990); Weaver v. State, 497 So.
2d 1089, 1094 (Miss. 1986), but not so much that we will require the instruction at issue. We affirm on
this issue.
Id. at 141.
Though Mississippi law is clear on this issue, Austin nonetheless argues that the refusal of the trial court to "level the playing field" resulted in a denial of his right to due process. Austin argues that courts routinely act contrary to the holdings in Stewart, Washington, and Hansen by granting cautionary instructions regarding informant testimony. It is true that where the State's case is based upon the testimony of an accomplice, corroborated only by a confidential informant, the trial court must grant a cautionary instruction. See Edwards v. State, 630 So.2d 343, 344 (Miss. 1994); Parker v. State, 378 So.2d 662, 663 (Miss. 1980). The policy behind granting a cautionary informant instruction, however, is based on the fact that informant or accomplice testimony, by its very nature, is looked upon with suspicion and distrust. This rationale does not extend to police officer testimony.
Austin v. State, 784 So.2d at 193.
.152. As discussed in issue XV, we find that the trial court properly instructed the jury on how to weigh the credibility of each and every witness.
The trial judge did not abuse his
discretion in refusing Howell's instruction D-8, distinguishing the testimony of law
enforcement officers from that of any other witness. See Austin, 784 So.2d at 193. Accordingly, we find that Howell's assignment of error is without merit.
XVII. Instruction D-16, Cross-Racial Eyewitness Identification
.153. Howell argues that the trial court erred in denying proposed instruction D-16 pertaining to eyewitness identification by a member of a different
race. Instruction D-16
provided:
In this case the identifying witness is of a different race than the defendant.
In the experience of many, it is more difficult to identify members of a
different race than members of ones own. If this is also your own experience,
you may consider it in evaluating the witness' testimony. You must also
consider, of course, whether there are other factors present in this case which
overcome any such difficulty of identification. For example, you may
conclude that the witness has had sufficient contacts with members of a
different race that he would not have greater difficulty in making a reliable
identification.
.154. Howell submits that this instruction has not been required under the laws of this State, stating that "this issue appears to be one of first
impression." The defense contends that the
special jury instruction should be required because Rice, a white man, identified Howell, a
young black man. In support of his argument, Howell cites State v. Cromedy, 727 A.2d 457 (N.J. 1999), where the cross-racial identification in a rape case
was not supported by any
corroborating evidence. Id. The New Jersey Supreme Court held that:
"A cross-racial instruction should be given only when, as in the present case,
identification is a critical issue in the case, and an eyewitness's cross-racial
identification is not corroborated by other evidence giving it independent
reliability."
Id. at 467.
.155. However, the court in Cromedy further provided that:
Courts typically have refused the instruction where the eyewitness or
victim had an adequate opportunity to observe the defendant, there was
corroborating evidence bolstering the identification, and/or there was no
evidence that race affected the identification. See Hyatt, supra, 647 N.E.2d at 1171 (declining instruction in rape and robbery case where victim was
terrorized for fifteen to twenty minutes in broad daylight and could see the
attacker's face); see also Commonwealth v. Engram, 43 Mass.App.Ct. 804, 686 N.E.2d 1080 (1997) (declining instruction where numerous eyewitnesses
saw defendant at close range and positively identified him from a line-up and
photo array).
A number of courts have concluded that cross-racial identification
simply is not an appropriate topic for jury instruction. See State v. Willis, 240 Kan. 580, 731 P.2d 287, 292-93 (1987); Hyatt, supra, 647 N.E.2d at
1171; People v. McDaniel, 217 A.D.2d 859, 630 N.Y.S.2d 112, 113, appeal denied, 87 N.Y.2d 848, 638 N.Y.S.2d 607, 661 N.E.2d 1389 (1995). Those courts
have determined that the cross-racial instruction requires expert guidance, and
that cross-examination and summation are adequate safeguards to highlight
unreliable identifications.
Other jurisdictions have denied the instruction, finding that the results
of empirical studies on cross-racial identification are questionable. See Telfaire, supra, 469 F.2d at 561-62 (Leventhal, J., concurring) (rejecting
cross-racial instruction because data supporting hypothesis is "meager");
People v. Bias, 131 Ill.App.3d 98, 86 Ill.Dec.256, 475 N.E.2d 253, 257 (1985) (rejecting instruction in robbery case where eyewitness failed to
describe key distinguishing facial features and gave inconsistent descriptions
because empirical studies are not unanimous). One jurisdiction has even
rejected cross-racial identification instructions as improper commentary on
"the nature and quality" of the evidence. See State v. Hadrick, 523 A.2d 441, 444 (R.I. 1987) (rejecting such instruction in robbery case where victim
viewed perpetrator for two to three minutes at close range during robbery and
identified him from a line-up).
Cromedy, 727 A.2d at 464-65.
.156. As discussed at length in the previously addressed issues, Rice's eyewitness identification was not the sole evidence against Howell presented to
the jury. The facts
clearly demonstrate that corroborating evidence was submitted to the jury, including the
testimony of co-defendant, Lipsey, as well as, witnesses, Shaw and Powell. Therefore, we
find that Cromedy is distinguishable from the facts at hand.
.157. Furthermore, instruction S-8 given by the trial court instructed the jury about eyewitness testimony.
The [c]ourt instructs the [j]ury that in reaching your verdict you are to
consider all of the evidence concerning the entire case and the circumstances
surrounding the crime. One of the issues in this case is the identification of
Marlon Latodd Howell is [sic] as the perpetrator of the crime. As with each
element of the crime charged, the State has the burden of proving identity
beyond a reasonable doubt, and before you may convict Marlon Latodd
Howell you must be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt of the accuracy of the
identification of Marlon Latodd Howell. If, after considering all of the
evidence concerning the crime and the witness's identification of Marlon
Latodd Howell is [sic] as the person who committed the crime, you are not
convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that he is the person who committed the
crime, then you must find him not guilty.
Identification testimony is an expression of belief or impression by the
witness. You must judge its value and reliability from the totality of the
circumstances surrounding the crime and the subsequent identification. In
appraising the identification testimony of a witness, you should consider the
following:
1) Did the witness have an adequate opportunity to observe the offender?
2) Did the witness observe the offender with an adequate degree of attention?
3) Did the witness provide an accurate description of the offender after the crime?
4) How certain is the witness of the identification?
5) How much time passed between the crime and the identification?
If, after examining all of the testimony and the evidence, you have a reasonable doubt that Marlon Latodd Howell was the person who committed the crime, then you must find Marlon Latodd Howell is not guilty.
.158. We find that instruction D-16 was properly denied by the trial court. As discussed previously, the trial court properly instructed the jury how
to weigh the credibility of each
witness that testified. This issue is without merit.
XVIII. Motion for Mistrial
.159. Howell contends that the trial court erred by refusing to grant his motion for mistrial and renewed motion for change of venue.
.160. "Whether to grant a motion for mistrial is within the sound discretion of the trial court. The standard of review for denial of a motion for
mistrial is abuse of discretion."
Pulphus v. State, 782 So.2d 1220, 1222 (Miss. 2001) (citations omitted); Spann v. State, 771 So.2d 883, 889 (Miss. 2000); Johnson v. State, 666 So.2d 784,
794 (Miss. 1995); Hoops v. State, 681 So.2d at 521. "The failure of the court to grant a motion for mistrial will not be overturned on appeal unless the
trial court abused its discretion." Bass v. State, 597 So.2d 182, 191 (Miss. 1992).
.161. Howell alleges that a juror's father sat on the front row of the audience with the Pernell family. The record reflects that Howell waited until
the next day to bring the matter
to the trial court's attention. Howell made his motion to the trial court after the trial court
had ruled on the jury instructions but before the jury was brought back in to receive the
instructions.
.162. The record provides:
Defense: Please the court I do have a matter for the record to bring up. Your Honor, yesterday at the conclusion of the defendants case
we were advised that juror Michael Reed's father at the close of
our case was seated on the front row with the Pernell family and
we contend that that would be highly prejudicial to us. His son
is sitting on the front row on the jury panel seeing his father
with the victim's family. In light of that we ask the court for a
mistrial. We think it is further evidence of the proof of the
passion and prejudice in this community concerning this case
and the inability of this defendant to get a fair trial here. We
also, Your Honor, in light of that ask the court to declare a
mistrial and to grant a change of venue in support of that I
would like to mark a remark for the record news paper articles
from the New Albany Gazette. March 30. And the Tupelo
Daily Journal dated March 30 as well as a videotape and a
transcript of the TV 9 broad cast concerning this particular case.
We think these articles and new cast are evidence of the high
profile nature of this case and the need for a change of venue.
The Court: Your motion for mistrial will be denied. Motion for change of venue will be denied and the court will address this issue.
Howell did not call any witnesses in support of his motion for mistrial.
.163. The trial judge called the jury in and read the instructions to the jury. The defense and the State made their closing arguments to the jury.
Following closing arguments, the
State attempted to respond to Howell's allegations. The State offered to submit the
testimony of a bailiff who knew the man in question. The State informed the trial court that
the bailiff would testify that the man had not sat with the victim's family as alleged by the
defense. In response, the trial court stated that "[t]he court hasn't heard any testimony from
anybody, so, I don't think we need to do anything." The record reflects that following this
exchange, Howell never objected nor requested that the trial court admonish the jury.
.164. We find the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Howell's motion for mistrial. Howell did not submit any proof to support his
allegation. Furthermore, Howell
did not present any evidence that the jury did not follow the trial court's instructions in
rendering its verdict or that he was prejudiced in any way. We also find this issue to be
without merit.
XIX. Prosecutorial Comments in Closing Argument
.165. Howell contends that the trial court erred by allowing the State to comment on Howell's failure to testify. During the closing argument of the
guilt phase of the trial, the
prosecutor stated that "If you had an alibi and were accused of capital murder, don't you
think you would tell somebody about it. Don't you think you would have given some
details. Done something. That is common sense." According to Howell, the prosecutor's
statement was a comment on his failure to take the stand. In support of his argument,
Howell relies upon the following three cases: Butler v. State, 608 So.2d 314, 318 (Miss. 1992) (prosecutor's comment that she "hasn't told you the whole
truth yet" and "she has not
yet told you the whole truth of the torment she subjected her son to. You still don't know the
whole story.", amounted to commenting on the defendant's failure to testify, where the
defendant was the only witness to her son's death); West v. State, 485 So.2d 681,688 (Miss. 1985) (prosecutor's comments that defense counsel stated that, "
'We decided not to put the
[d]efendant on the stand for trial strategy.' Could any of you possibly have a doubt?" and
other similar comments amounted to a comment on the defendant's failure to take the stand);
and Randall v. State, 806 So.2d 185, 211-12 (Miss. 2002) (prosecutorial comments "approached the edge of reversible error" when the prosecution commented on
the failure
of 24 witnesses for the defense to testify after Randall's objection to the State's improper
comment regarding the absence of one witness").
.166. The prosecutor's comments in the case sub judice are clearly distinguishable from the line of case law authority cited by Howell. In Butler, the
prosecutor commented that the defendant was not telling the whole truth. Butler, 608, So.2d at 318. Unlike Butler, the case at hand had two witnesses
testify that Howell shot Pernell. In Butler, the defendant was the only witness to her child's death.
.167. In West, the prosecutor commented that the defendant did not take the stand for trial strategy purpose but there was "no doubt" as to guilt.
West, 485 So.2d at 688. Again, the prosecutor in the case sub judice did not go to that extreme and speak about a lack of taking
the stand. Instead, the prosecution brought out discrepancies in witnesses' testimony
concerning Howell's alleged alibi defense. The prosecutor commented that common sense
would dictate that a defendant would reveal the identity of an alibi when faced with capital
murder charges.
.168. In Randall, this Court found that prosecutorial misconduct was on the edge of reversible error for comments concerning the number of defense
witnesses that did not
testify at trial. This Court ultimately reversed the case in Randall, but not on that one issue standing alone. Clearly, no comments of this nature were
made by the prosecution at
Howell's trial.
.169. Attorneys are allowed wide latitude in closing arguments. Holly v. State, 716 So.2d 979, 988 (Miss. 1998). The trial judge is in the best a
position to determine if an alleged objectionable remark has a prejudicial effect. Roundtree v. State, 568 So.2d 1173, 1177 (Miss. 1990). "The judge is
provided considerable discretion to determine whether the
remark is so prejudicial that a mistrial should be declared." Id. at 1778. This Court has held:
There is a difference, however, between a comment on the defendant's failure
to testify and a comment on the failure to put on a successful defense.
Moreover, the State is entitled to comment on the lack of any defense, and
such comment will not be construed as a reference to a defendant's failure to
testify 'by innuendo and insinuation.'
Strahan v. State, 729 So.2d 800, 806 (Miss. 1998) (citations omitted). An alleged improper prosecutorial comment during closing argument must be
considered by the appellate court
in context in which the statement was made. Ballenger v. State, 667 So.2d at 1270. When faced with this type of challenge, the appellate court must
determine "whether the comment
of the prosecutor can reasonably be construed as a comment upon the failure of [the
accused] to take the stand." Fears v. State, 779 So.2d 1125, 1129 (Miss. 2001) (quoting Ladner v. State, 584 So.2d 743, 754 (Miss. 1991)). The appellate
court reviews each comment on a case by case a basis. Id. at 1129-30. Taking the comment in context during the sentencing phase of the trial on rebuttal,
the prosecution stated the following:
The defendant's own father. I guess is part of the defense team. He also wanted to attack the chief who went to school with him. You know the lethal piece of evidence in this whole case is the big chief's mouth to think he was stupid enough and the law enforcement officers were stupid enough to believe that he is in Corinth with a whore. Think the cops are just going to go away. That you are going to forget about it. That is how simple minded the defendant is. That is [the] most lethal piece of evidence in this case that I see. Why would you lie. What is the reason. Common sense could make that decision. Why would he lie. Then I suppose that the father would have you believe that the reason the first time he is told anything about this alibi is that of the police are bad. No. I wouldn't tell them. What about the F B I? What about me? What about Judge Coleman. What about somebody instead of the first time any law enforcement is told allegedly that the defendant was there at that house when this crime occurred, when he sat don up here, Does that make common sense, I don't think so. Wouldn't you talk about, you know, with your daughter whether or not what time was it do you remember, did you hear him knock, Remember she head the bell ring, he head the knock, A lot of discrepancies there. Between their testimony, She said they never discussed that. Remember that. Nailed her down on that issue, Never wavered from it. Daddy said they did. Said they discussed and prayed about it and talked about it. But the best he could come up. He never came up with any time just the time he dropped him off at 8:25 a time that he wanted to know about. If you had an alibi and were accused of capital murder, don't you think you would tell somebody about it. Don't you think you would give some details. Done something. That is common sense.
(emphasis added).
.170. When questioned by Chief Grisham, Howell told the officers that he was in Corinth with a woman at the time Pernell was shot. Howell told Chief
Grisham that he did not know
the woman's name or address, even after the police stressed the importance of verifying his
alibi. Mississippi Highway Patrol investigator Mickey Baker also testified that Howell did
not provide the woman's name or address. Howell continued to withhold the woman's
information when the police told him that they had information of his involvement in the
murder. Howell maintained that he was with a woman in Corinth.
.171. Rev. Howell testified that the door bell rang and he went to the door. He heard his son's voice say, "It is me daddy." Rev. Howell then turned
the latch on the door to his home
and went back to bed. Rev. Howell never saw Howell. Marion Howell (Marion), Howell's
sister, stated that she heard her father get up. She then looked at her pager which had a time
of 3:00 a.m. She did not see Howell that night. Despite this testimony at trial, Howell never
once mentioned that he had been at his father's home that night. Rev. Howell and Marion
never told the police about any of these events either. In fact, Rev. Howell stated that he
went to the police station and inquired about the arrest and charges against his son, but he
never told the police that his son was allegedly at home that night.
.172. In the case sub judice, the prosecutor was summarizing the testimony of the witnesses. He pointed out the conflicts in the alibi testimony of
Howell's father and sister.[ 6 During closing argument, the defense commented on Rev. Howell and Marion's testimony. The prosecutor merely rebutted and
commented on the defense's closing argument. The defense spoke at great
length that neither witness lied to the jury but only stated the facts as they knew them. ]6 In effect, the comments concerned the lack of a successful
alibi defense. This Court in
Strahan v. State, 729 So.2d at 806, held that the prosecution "is entitled to comment on the lack of any defense, and such comment will not be construed as
a reference to a defendant's
failure to testify 'by innuendo and insinuation.'" We find that this issue is without merit.
XX. Cooling off Period
.173. Howell argues that the trial court erred by failing to grant his motion for a 24 hour cooling off period between the end of the guilt phase and
the beginning of the sentencing
phase. He claims that the trial court did not make a finding of fact in denying the motion.
.174. Miss. Code Ann. . 99-19-101(1) (Rev. 2000) states the following in part:
Upon conviction or adjudication of guilt of a defendant of capital murder or other capital offense, the court shall conduct a separate sentencing
proceeding
to determine whether the defendant should be sentenced to death, life
imprisonment without eligibility for parole, or life imprisonment. The
proceeding shall be conducted by the trial judge before the trial jury as soon as practicable.
(emphasis added). Howell cites McGilberry v. State, 741 So.2d 894, 919 (Miss. 1999), for authority for his position. In McGilberry, this Court held that
the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying a motion for a 12 hour cooling off period. Id. The trial court
denied the motion noting that the jury had eaten lunch, it was the middle of the day, and
there was no reason to grant a cooling off period. Id. Consequently, the defense had a 15 minute recess between the jury verdict and the sentencing phase
of the trial. Id.
.175. Trial judges normally have broad discretion in their decision on the time to begin a trial and the length of the proceedings each day. Hooker v.
State, 716 So.2d 1104, 1112 (Miss. 1998). See also Conley v. State, 790 So.2d 773, 798 (Miss. 2001) (upheld the denial of a 12 hour cooling off period where
there had been a 30 minute recess between the guilt
and sentencing phase of a capital murder).
.176. After a short recess of approximately 15 minutes, defense counsel renewed its motion to the trial court for a 24 hour cooling off period between
the guilt and sentencing phase.
Counsel presented no argument to support of the cooling off period. The trial court denied
the motion.
.177. Even in his brief, Howell offers no valid reason to grant the motion. Miss. Code Ann. . 99-19-101(1) requires that a separate sentencing
proceeding shall be conducted as
soon as practicable. The trial court has discretion in determining the length of proceedings
each day. Hooker v. State, 716 So.2d at 1112. Further, Mississippi has not adopted a statutorily mandated cooling off period between the guilt and
sentencing phase of trial. See Conley v. State, 790 So.2d at 798.
.178. We find that the trial court's denial of the motion was not an abuse of discretion. Howell never showed why the motion for a cooling off period
was necessary nor how the
denial of the motion was improper or an abuse of discretion. The applicable statute requires
a separate sentencing proceeding to be conducted as soon as practicable. Miss. Code Ann.
. 99-19-101(1). This Court has upheld a 15 minute recess. See McGilberry, 741 So.2d at 919. The trial court in its discretion determined that the
sentencing phase could begin the
same day that the verdict was returned by the jury. This issue is without merit.
XXI. Prior Conviction as an Aggravating Factor
.179. Howell argues that the use of the aggravating factor "under sentence of imprisonment" amounts to reversible error. In Grayson v. State, 806 So. 2d at 252, this Court held that "[t]he legislature's intent was to protect the citizenry from the evil of the lesser felony by imposing a greater penalty upon a homicide occurring during its commission." Id. at 252. Miss. Code Ann. . 99-19-101(5)(a) provides in pertinent part:
(5) Aggravating circumstances shall be limited to the following:
(a) The capital offense was committed by a person under sentence of imprisonment
Howell contends that the legislative intent of this language "under sentencing of
imprisonment" in Miss. Code Ann. . 99-19-101(5)(a) was to deter inmates from committing murder while in custody. He claims that the fact that a felon is
on probation or even off probation for a non-violent crime should not be considered as an aggravating factor in
whether to impose the death penalty.
.180. On numerous occasions, this Court has held that the aggravating circumstances language "under sentencing of imprisonment" applies to
unincarcerated felons. In Evans v. State, 422 So.2d 732, 741 (Miss. 1982), this Court held that "under Mississippi statutes and decisions, when a person
has been convicted and placed on probation, particularly here,
where four (4) years of a five-year sentence were suspended, such sentence is a sentence
under imprisonment."
.181. In Brown v. State, 798 So.2d 481, 492 (Miss. 2001) this Court held that "[i]t has been held that one who is under a suspended sentence is "under
sentence of imprisonment" for
purposes of finding the aggravating circumstance listed at Miss. Code Ann. .
99-19-101(5)(a)." Brown was convicted of aggravated assault, sentenced to a ten year term
in prison, the sentence was suspended and he was placed on probation. Id. Later, one year of the sentence was revoked, however, the rest of the sentence
was not revoked. Id. See also Cole v. State, 666 So.2d at 777 (serving a suspended sentence pursuant to a grand larceny conviction at the time the murder
was committed was considered a sentence of
imprisonment); Lockett v. State, 517 So.2d at 1336-37 (probated sentence meets the "under sentence of imprisonment" terms for purposes of finding the
aggravating circumstance
pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. . 99-19-101(5)(a)).
.182. In the case sub judice, Officer Nance testified at the sentencing phase concerning Howell's prior sentence for possession of a controlled
substance, a non-violent crime. He
stated that a person on house arrest, a.k.a. intensive supervision program, is considered an
inmate of the State. Howell was sentenced on March 3, 1999, to the intensive supervision
program for three years. The first year of the sentence was to be served on house arrest and
upon completion, Howell would then be placed on post-release supervision for two years.
According to Officer Nance, the intensive supervision program is in lieu of transporting a
defendant to the State penitentiary at Parchman. If a defendant violates the conditions and
terms of the program, then the person is taken directly to Parchman. On February 11, 2000,
Howell was transferred from the intense supervised program to post-release supervision in
Tippah County. Pernell was shot on May 15, 2000.
.183. Our precedents clearly permit the aggravating factor "under sentence of imprisonment" pursuant to . 99-19-101(5)(a) to include probated, paroled,
and suspended
sentences. Accordingly, we find that this issue is without merit.
XXII. Pecuniary Gain
.184. Howell next argues that the trial court erred by allowing Officer Nance to testify to the fee payment schedule for probationers. He complains
that the prosecution used the same
pecuniary gain or motive at trial and during the sentencing phase to provide an aggravating
factor for the jury.
.185. The State argues that Howell is procedurally barred from raising this issue as he failed to raise this objection at the sentencing hearing. We
agree. The following exchange
between the State and Officer Nance indicates that the defense objected on the grounds of
the imprisonment issue pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. . 99-19-101(5)(a):
Defense: This is a conviction, Judge the record I would want to object to this being used as an aggravating circumstance because it's not
a conviction involving violence or the propensity for violence.
We contend that he was under a sentence where he was on
probation and not under a sentence of imprisonment and that is
a distinction and that this conviction could not be used as an
aggravating factor.
The Court: All right. All right, Mr. Hood.
State: Your Honor, first of all the State would move to reintroduce for the juries consideration all the evidence
introduced and presented to the jury for oral testimony
for their consideration during the sentencing phase.
The Court: All right, sir. Let it be so admitted.
After questioning Officer Nance for a short period of time, the defense objected again for
the purpose of their argument concerning imprisonment, not pecuniary gain. The following
occurred:
Q. What about these fees that people on the probation have to pay to their probation officer. What fees are those?
Defense: We are going to interpose and objection on top of the previous objection we made at this bench.
That is not part of the proof that he had a
sentence of imprisonment.
The Court: Where are we going.
State: Trying to determine the pecuniary gain, Your Honor.
The Court: Go ahead?
"If no contemporaneous objection is made, the error, if any, is waived." Walker v. State, 671 So.2d 581, 597 (Miss. 1995) (citing Foster v. State, 639 So. 2d at 1270). This Court finds that the issue is procedurally barred.
.186. Procedural bar aside, Howell's argument is also without merit. Officer Nance testified that a probationer had to pay a $25 monthly supervision
fee and an extra $10 if a
probationer fails a drug test. The prosecution in this case submitted an instruction which
combined the pecuniary gain and the robbery into one aggravating factor. The portion of
the instruction read as follows: "The capital offense was committed for pecuniary gain
during the course of robbery." Thus, the instruction was given as one aggravating factor and
not as separate factors.
.187. In West v. State, the defense argued that the capital punishment statute is unconstitutional because "it fails to provide a principled
distinction of death-eligible felony
murderers, since the underlying felony is used both to elevate the defendant into the
death-eligible class as well as to subsequently aggravate his felony murder conviction." West v. State, 725 So.2d 872, 894 (Miss. 1998). The Court in West
stated that this "argument has been squarely rejected by this Court in Ballenger v. State, 667 So.2d at 1260-61, which noted that where the class is
appropriately narrowed through legislative definition of the
capital offenses, further narrowing is not required at the weighing stage." 725 So.2d at 895.
.188. In Turner v. State, 732 So.2d 937, 954-55 (Miss. 1999), this Court upheld a jury instruction which combined the pecuniary gain aggravator with an
armed robbery. This
Court held that:
In sentencing instruction number one, only one aggravating factor was offered
for the jury's consideration:
1. The capital offense was committed for pecuniary gain during the course of an armed robbery.
Turner contends that under Willie v. State, 585 So.2d 660, 680-81 (Miss.1991), this Court will not allow the jury "the opportunity to doubly
weigh the commission of the underlying felony and the motive behind the
underlying felony as separate aggravators." Turner alleges that in the present
case sentencing instruction number one violated the spirit, if not the exact
letter of the law.
In Jenkins v. State, 607 So.2d 1171, 1182 (Miss.1992), this Court held, "in Willie, we clearly rejected the use of robbery and pecuniary gain
aggravators finding that they were, in essence, just one." See also Ladner v. State, 584 So.2d 743, 762 (Miss.1991); Willie v. State, 585 So.2d 660,
680-81 (Miss.1991).
Turner, 732 So.2d at 954-55. The jury instruction in this case is exactly the same as that given in Turner, albeit one was in the course of "armed
robbery" while the other was "robbery." Accordingly, this issue is without merit.
XXIII. Introduction of a Prior Indictment
.189. Howell contends that the trial court erred by allowing the State to introduce an indictment against him for the sale of a controlled substance.
He argues that the indictment
was not relevant and was highly prejudicial. Further, he relies on Eubanks v. State, 419 So.2d 1330 (Miss. 1982) (simple assault case) and Black v. State,
418 So.2d 819 (Miss. 1982) (burglary), for the general legal principle that trial testimony is confined to the charges
for which the defendant is accused and must stand trial.
.190. We previously discussed in issue XXI whether Howell was "under sentence of imprisonment" for the conviction of possession of a controlled
substance at the time of the
crime and its use as an aggravating factor. The fact of the matter is that Howell was actually
indicted on a charge of sale of a controlled substance; however, he pled guilty to the reduced charge of possession of marijuana. On direct examination,
Officer Nance testified that Howell was sentenced for possession of a controlled substance. On redirect examination,
Officer Nance also stated that the original indictment was for the sale of a controlled
substance, that being, marijuana.
.191. The State argues that Howell's claim is procedurally barred for failure to cite relevant authority, that being, Howell relies upon two non-death
penalty cases. We agree and in
addition Howell has not provided any authority to support his argument that the indictment
was not relevant and that it was highly prejudicial.
.192. Procedural bar aside, this issue is still without merit. The State argues that the indictment was necessary to rebut the mitigator submitted by
Howell that he has no
significant history of prior criminal history. Further, the State maintains that the indictment
was offered to demonstrate the validity of the sentencing order and rebut the mitigating
evidence presented by Howell.
.193. Indeed, this Court held that "[t]he State is allowed to rebut mitigating evidence through cross-examination, introduction of rebuttal evidence or by argument." Wiley v. State, 750 So.2d 1193, 1202 (Miss. 2000) (quoting Turner v. State, 732 So.2d at 950).
.194. As previously mentioned in Issue XXI, Officer Nance testified that Howell was "under sentence of imprisonment" pursuant to . 99-19-101(5)(a).
On cross-examination,
defense counsel asked the following questions:
Defense: Mr. Nance, the crime for which [Marlon] Howell was charged, he pled guilty; is that correct?
Officer Nance: Yes, sir.
Defense: There was no trial or finding by jury. He came here and entered a guilty plea?
Officer Nance: Yes, sir.
Defense: And that was to possession of a controlled substance?
Officer Nance: That is what the order shows.
Defense: Did it reflect what the controlled substance was?
Officer Nance: The order does not say.
Defense: Do you have personal knowledge of what the controlled substance was?
Officer Nance: I do not.
Defense: Do you have any documents reflecting what it was?
Officer Nance: I don't have any with me. I was never his supervising officer. He went directly to the intensive
supervision program.
Defense: This is the only on [sic] criminal conviction that you have a record of on Marlon Howell?
Officer Nance: That is the only thing that I know of personally.
Defense: Mr. Nance, this particular crime that you have testified to is not one of violence.
Officer Nance: No, sir.
Defense: As I understand under this supervision release program Mr. Howell was actually never sentenced to serve a term
in Parchman was he?
Officer Nance: Yes, sir. He was sentenced to serve a term in Parchman.
Defense: I understand he was sentenced to serve three years?
Officer Nance: Yes, sir.
Defense: My question is was he ever sentenced to go to Parchman?
Officer Nance: He was placed in the Intensive Supervision Program in lieu of transporting him to Parchman with the conditions
that if he violated any of the terms and conditions of the
Intensive Supervision Program he would be taken
directly to Parchman.
Defense: He was released on his house arrest on February 11th of 2000?
Officer Nance: Yes, sir.
Defense: So he was released actually before his year was up?
Officer Nance: Yes, sir the court retained a 365 day right of review of him.
(emphasis added). The testimony that the defense elicited from Officer Nance was that (1)
Howell was convicted of possession of a controlled substance; (2) the type of controlled
substance was unknown to Officer Nance; (3) Howell pled guilty to a non-violent crime; and
(4) whether the crime was punishable by a sentence to the penitentiary was called into
question.
.195. Clearly, the defense opened the door to redirect examination questions concerning the type of controlled substance in Howell's possession. The
indictment indicated that the
substance was marijuana. Furthermore, the indictment also stated that the punishment for
sale of a controlled substance was imprisonment. Any question concerning whether Howell
had a significant history of prior crime was resolved when the defense asked Officer Nance
about Howell's prior crime. The indictment and testimony from Officer Nance concerning
Howell's criminal history was offered to rebut the defense's inference that Howell's prior
crime was insignificant and did not warrant time served in the penitentiary. The indictment
showed that the cause numbers in the indictment and the sentencing order were the same and
that Howell pled to a lesser offense of possession. Further, the indictment pinpointed the
specific controlled substance that was the basis for the charge against Howell. Accordingly,
this issue is without merit.
XXIV. Sentencing Instruction S-2
.196. Howell contends that the trial court erred by giving sentencing instruction S-2 which allegedly removed sympathy and mercy from the jury's
consideration. He also alludes to the
trial court refusing all of his sentencing instructions. Actually, Howell submitted one
sentencing instruction, D-1, which comprised thirty-six pages of text. The trial court denied
the instruction, but it stated that part of Howell's proposed instruction was incorporated into
other instructions. This argument will be addressed more fully in the next issue.
.197. There are two portions of Howell's proposed sentencing instruction D-1 that he argues contained proper mitigation language. Section three of
sentencing instruction D-1
provided:
A mitigating circumstance is a fact which does not excuse the crime but
which, in fairness and in mercy, you should consider as a reason to impose a
sentence of life imprisonment rather than death. Marlon Howell does not
have to prove the existence of mitigating circumstances beyond a reasonable
doubt. Rather, you should find a mitigating circumstance to exist if there is
any evidence in support of it. Furthermore, you, as individual jurors, must
consider mitigating circumstances. Therefore, even if all other eleven jurors
find that a certain mitigating circumstance does not exist, if you believe it does
exist, you must find that mitigating circumstance, and weigh it in your further
deliberations.
(emphasis added). Section five of the sentencing instruction D-1 provided:
Finally, each individual juror must decide whether death or life in prison is the appropriate punishment for this crime and for Marlon Howell. Even if aggravating factors outweigh mitigating factors, the law permits the jury to impose a sentence of life imprisonment out of mercy or a determination that life imprisonment is sufficient punishment under the circumstances.
(emphasis added). Jury instructions are within the sound discretion of the trial court. Goodin v. State, 787 So.2d at 657. In Goodin, this Court addressed the issue of mercy instructions and held:
This Court has repeatedly held that "capital defendants are not entitled to a mercy instruction." Jordan v. State, 728 So.2d 1088, 1099 (Miss.1998) (citing Underwood v. State, 708 So.2d 18, 37 (Miss.1998); Hansen v. State, 592 So. 2d 114, 150 (Miss.1991); Williams v. State, 544 So.2d 782, 788 (Miss.1987); Lester v. State, 692 So.2d 755, 798 (Miss.1997); Jackson v. State, 684 So. 2d 1213, 1239 (Miss.1996); Carr v. State, 655 So.2d 824, 850 (Miss.1995); Foster v. State, 639 So.2d 1263, 1299-1301 (Miss.1994); Jenkins v. State, 607 So.2d 1171, 1181 (Miss.1992); Nixon v. State, 533 So.2d 1078, 1100 (Miss.1987)). "The United States Supreme Court has held that giving a jury instruction allowing consideration of sympathy or mercy could induce a jury to base its sentencing decision upon emotion, whim, and caprice instead of upon the evidence presented at trial." Id. (citing Saffle v. Parks, 494 U.S. 484, 492-95, 110 S.Ct. 1257, 1262-64, 108 L.Ed.2d 415 ( 1990)). However, arguments to the jury are not the same as jury instructions. Miss. Code Ann. . 99-19-101(1) states in pertinent part: "The state and the defendant and/or his counsel shall be permitted to present arguments for or against the sentence of death." Thus, it is appropriate for the defense to ask for mercy or sympathy in the sentencing phase. It is likewise appropriate for the State to argue to "send a message" in the sentencing phase. Again, neither side is entitled to a jury instruction regarding mercy or deterrence.
787 So.2d 657-58. See also King v. State, 784 So.2d 884, 889 (Miss. 2001) ("It should be noted further that neither side is entitled to a jury instruction
regarding mercy or
deterrence"); Wiley v. State, 750 So.2d 1193, 1204-05 (Miss. 1999). In Wiley this Court held:
[T]he jury received the "catch-all" instruction on mitigating circumstances. That is, the jury was instructed to consider, as a mitigating factor, any other matter, any other aspect of the defendant's character or record, and any other circumstance of the offense brought before them during the trial, which the jury, deemed to be mitigating on behalf of the defendant. "This Court long has accepted the use of a 'catch-all' to encompass any mitigating circumstances not specifically enumerated under Miss. Code Ann. . 99-19-101(6)."
Wiley, 750 So.2d at1205 (citations omitted).
.198. A portion of instruction S-2 given to the jury stated:
You have found the defendant, guilty of the crime of [c]apital [m]urder. You
must now decide whether the defendant will be sentenced to death or to life
imprisonment without parole. In reaching your decision, you may objectively
consider the detailed circumstances of the offense for which the defendant
was convicted and the character and record of the defendant himself. You
must consider and weigh any aggravating and mitigating circumstances, as set
forth later in this instruction, but you are cautioned not to be swayed by mere
sentiment, conjecture, sympathy, passion, prejudice, public opinion or public
feeling.
This portion of instruction S-2 amounts to a "catch-all" instruction.
.199. In Turner v. State,732 So.2d at 952, the instruction read to the jury was almost the same. This Court upheld the language in the Turner
instruction which stated "You should consider and weigh any aggravating and mitigating circumstances, as set forth later in this
instruction, but you are cautioned not to be swayed by mere sentiment, conjecture, sympathy,
passion, prejudice, public opinion, or public feeling." Turner v. State,732 So.2d at 952. See also Evans v. State, 725 So.2d 613, 690-91 (Miss. 1997);
Holland v. State, 705 So.2d 307, 351-52 (Miss. 1997). Indeed, this Court held that a defendant is not entitled to a sympathy
or mercy instruction and allowing such an instruction results in a jury verdict that is based
on "whim and caprice." Id. (citing Holland v. State, 705 So.2d 307, 351-52 (Miss.1997)). In Turner, this Court found that "pity", "mercy" and "sympathy"
are synonymous. Id. Case law precedent clearly allows an instruction such as that given to the jury in this case.
Accordingly, this issue is without merit.
XXV. Proposed Sentencing Instruction D-1
.200. As a continuance of issue XXIV, Howell next contends that the trial court erred by denying his sentencing instruction D-1 and adequate sentencing
instruction definitions. He
asserts that the jury was precluded from being adequately informed as to the definition of
aggravating and mitigating circumstances and the proper use of sympathy and mercy in the
sentencing phase. Since the issue of sympathy and mercy were analyzed in the preceding
issue, the Court need not address the same issue again.
.201. No authority was provided by Howell in his brief other than a reference to the Mississippi Model Jury Instructions Second Edition, Criminal,
Mississippi Judicial College, 1999, to support this entire issue. Accordingly, this issue is procedurally barred. Simmons v. State, 805 So.2d 452, 487 (
Miss. 2001). See also Mitchell v. State, 792 So.2d 192, 202 (Miss. 2001) (death penalty case where failure to cite any authority for an issue was a
procedural bar).
.202. Notwithstanding the procedural bar, the one sentencing instruction submitted by Howell, as referenced in the preceding issue, contained thirty-
six pages of text consisting
of twenty-nine sections. Many of the areas of instruction were not relevant to the issues
present in Howell's case. In fact, Howell even acknowledged that some of the points were
not applicable to his case.
.203. The trial court incorporated part of Howell's sentencing instruction into the instructions given, stating:
Now as to the instruction submitted by the defendant, I think the court has
taken part of that instruction and incorporated it into some of the instructions
that the court has already mentioned
This Court has held the standard of review for jury instructions is as follows:
[T]he instructions are to be read together as a whole, with no one instruction
to be read alone or taken out of context. A defendant is entitled to have jury
instructions given which present his theory of the case. However, the trial
judge may also properly refuse the instructions if he finds them to incorrectly
state the law or to repeat a theory fairly covered in another instruction or to be
without proper foundation in the evidence of the case.
Thomas v. State, 818 So.2d 335, 349 (Miss. 2002) (quoting Humphrey v. State, 759 So.2d at 380). Furthermore, Howell requested no specific area of
instruction to be considered on
its own by the trial court, rather the instruction was submitted as a whole.[ 7 Howell also comments on what he considers a "disturbing trend in the
trial court's refusal to grant defendant's theory of the case instructions and detailed sentencing instructions." In addition, Howell
questions why instructions should be shortened when a person's life is at stake. Again, Howell submitted
the instruction as a whole and did not ask for any specific instruction to be considered by the trial judge. The
trial judge also stated that some of the defense instructions were incorporated into other instructions for the
jury. We find that this contention is without merit.]7 The trial court noted that part of the defense instruction was incorporated into some of the other
instructions. .204. As to Howell's assertion that the jury was not adequately informed of
the definition of aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the instruction proves otherwise.
The instruction read in part as follows:
You must consider and weigh any aggravating and mitigating circumstances, as set forth later in this instruction, but you are cautioned not to be
swayed by mere sentiment, conjecture, sympathy, passion, prejudice,
public opinion or public feeling.
* * * *
Next, to return the death penalty, you must find that the mitigating circumstances (those which tend to warrant the less severe penalty of life imprisonment) do not outweigh the aggravating circumstances (those which tend to warrant the death penalty).
Consider only the following elements of aggravation in determining whether the death penalty should be imposed:
1) The capital offense was committed by a person under sentence of imprisonment, probation or parole.
2) The capital offense was committed for pecuniary gain during the course of a robbery.
You must unanimously find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that one or more of
the preceding aggravating circumstances exists in this case to return the death
penalty. If none of these aggravating circumstances are found to exist, the
death penalty may not be imposed, and you shall write the following verdict
on a sheet of paper:
"We the jury, find the defendant, Howell,
should be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole."
If one or more of these aggravating circumstances is found to exist, then you must consider whether there are mitigating circumstances which
outweigh the aggravating circumstance(s). Consider the following
elements of mitigation in determining whether the death penalty should
be not imposed.
1) Whether the defendant, Marlon Latodd Howell, has no significant history of prior criminal activity.
2) The age of the defendant Marlon Latodd Howell at the time of the crime.
3) The fact that Marlon Latodd Howell will not be eligible for parole or probation.
4) The sentence of co-defendant Adam Ray and Curtis Lipsey.
5) Any other matter, any other aspect of the defendant's character or record, and any other circumstances of the
offense brought to you during the trial of this cause
which you, the jury, deem to be mitigating on behalf of
the defendant.
If you find from the evidence that one or more of the preceding elements of
mitigation exists, then you must consider whether it (or they) outweigh(s) or
overcome(s) the aggravating circumstance(s) you previously found. In the
event that you find that the mitigating circumstance(s) do not outweigh or
overcome the aggravating circumstance(s), you may impose the death
sentence. Should you find that the mitigating circumstance(s) outweigh or
overcome the aggravating circumstance(s), you shall not impose the death
sentence.
(emphasis added). Clearly, the instruction defined the terms "aggravating" and "mitigating"
for the jury as well as the exact elements of each. Indeed, in Randle v. State, 827 So.2d 705, 713 (Miss. 2002), this Court upheld instructions similar
in form to the instructions at
hand. The Court held that the instructions adequately placed the aggravating circumstances
and the mitigating circumstances before the jury, clearly explained that the circumstances
must be weighed against each other, and the appropriate sentence based upon the result of
the weighing process. Id. Accordingly, this issue is without merit.
XXVI. Comments on the Victim, Pernell
.205. Howell next contends that the trial court erred in allowing the State to refer to the victim in the closing argument. More precisely, Howell
argues that the State's remarks
comparing the victim, Pernell, to himself were highly inflammatory and prejudicial.
.206. Counsel has wide latitude when arguing cases. Wells v. State, 698 So.2d 497, 506 (Miss. 1997); Davis v. State, 530 So.2d at 702. "Where a
prosecutor has made an improper argument, the question on appeal is 'whether the natural and probable effect of the improper
argument of the prosecuting attorney is to create an unjust prejudice against the accused as
to result in a decision influenced by the prejudice so created.'" Wells v. State, 698 So.2d at 507 (citing Davis v. State, 530 So.2d 694, 701 (Miss. 1988)).
See also Bell v. State, 725 So.2d 836, 851 (Miss. 1998) (no error where prosecutor argued that murder victim planned to own his own store and stated that
victim's life now was reduced to trial exhibits); Conner v. State, 632 So.2d 1239, 1276 (Miss. 1993) (overruled on other grounds) (no error where
prosecution referred to victim as a grandmother and not to forget her); Hughes v. State, 820 So.2d 8, 12 (Miss. Ct. App. 2002) (no error where the
prosecutor asked the jury "to imagine
yourself closing your business or home being faced with a shotgun").
.207. Howell relies upon Willie v. State, 585 So.2d 660, 679 (Miss. 1991) for authority to support his position that the trial court erred by allowing
the State to comment on the victim
in closing argument. However, Howell does not cite any specific language from the State's
closing arguments. In Willie, the defendant argued that the jury was asked to weigh the value of Willie's life against the victim. Willie, 585 So.2d at
679. This Court considered this issue procedurally barred for failure to object at the trial. Id. Despite the procedural bar,
the Court went on to state that the comment was improper even though it was not considered
a victim impact statement and had no bearing on Willie's moral culpability. Id. This Court finds that Willie is not persuasive to the issue sub judice.
.208. During Howell's closing argument, Howell's counsel raised a number of points for the jury's consideration before making its decision. In essence,
the defense counsel
elaborated on how awful the whole situation was for Howell and his family. Defense
counsel referenced that Howell was just 20 years old. Defense counsel further mentioned
that Howell's family was physically unable to come and testify at the sentencing phase of
the trial and that the sentence takes him away from his family. In addition, defense counsel
stated that a life sentence for a 20 year old was basically a death sentence.
.209. After Howell's closing argument, the State made its final arguments to the jury. The State's closing argument emphasized that Howell was trying
to "put a guilt trip" on the jury.
In addition, the State argued that Howell did not want the jury to consider the victim. The
State asked the jury to compare Howell, who murdered Pernell for money, to Pernell, a
retired postal worker with a family who worked to earn money. Later, the State argued:
I dare put words in the mouth of the man I never met but I heard a lot about
and you heard some about for this witness stand. But I bet you [Pernell]
would tell you this. When you consider him to be mean or nice or whatever
he would say I would like to see that may lay on death row a long long time.
Let him think about what blast across my mind when I saw the fire coming
from that barrel.
* * * *
Let me bring you back to that second in time before he died to ask what would
he say. Did he get a chance to say goodbye to his family. No. What about
asking God for forgiveness and mercy? No he died instantly. I expect he
would like to see this defendant sit on death row and look down thinking
about what will happen to him. Thinking about what the sentence will be like
if carried out. I think he would at least want that.
The State also pointed out that by his actions, Howell not only ruined the lives of Pernell's family, he ruined the lives of his own family. As a final statement, the State requested that the jury consider the instructions and stated "don't let the guilt trip bother you."
.210. This Court finds that the State's comments did not create an unjust prejudice against Howell which resulted in a decision influenced by prejudice
. Attorneys have wide latitude
in closing statements. Wells, 698 So.2d at 506. In the case sub judice, the State was asking the jury to be mindful of the facts and not be swayed by a "
guilt trip" or sympathy. Further,
the State was arguing aggravating factors by stating that Howell took the money for
pecuniary gain as opposed to working for the money as did Pernell. The State also placed
responsibility on Howell for ruining the lives of all involved. The State asked the jury to
follow the instructions and not allow themselves to be swayed by a "guilt trip." This issue
is without merit.
XXVII. Howell's Post-Trial Motion for a New Trial.
.211. The trial court conducted a hearing on a motion for new trial. Howell argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion for new trial.
Of particular concern, Howell cites to
issue I (venue), XIII[ 8 Howell cites issue XIII concerning guilt phase instruction S-2 in his brief to be of particular concern, however, at the hearing
defense counsel argued sentencing phase instruction S-2 in issue XXIV.
In either case, this Court had adequately addressed these issues and no further discussion is required. ]8 (guilt phase instruction S-2 concerning whether .
97-3-19 specifically enumerate attempted robbery as an underlying offense for the conviction of capital murder),
and XXVI (the prosecution's reference to the victim, Pernell, in the sentencing phase).
.212. In Birkley v. State, 750 So.2d 1244, 1255 (Miss. 1999), this Court held that the standard of review for a post-trial motion is abuse of
discretion. "A motion for new trial
challenges the weight of the evidence. A reversal is warranted only if the lower court abused
its discretion in denying a motion for new trial." Edwards v. State, 800 So.2d 454, 464 (Miss. 2001) (citing Sheffield v. State, 749 So.2d 123, 127 (Miss.
1999). "This Court will accept as true the evidence which supports the verdict and gives the benefit of all favorable
inferences that may be drawn from the evidence to the prosecution." Jefferson v. State, 818 So.2d 1099, 1111-12 (Miss. 2002) (citing Edwards, 800 So.2d at
465). The appellate court will not order a new trial "unless the verdict is so contrary to the overwhelming weight of the
evidence that to allow it to stand would sanction 'unconscionable injustice.'" McDowell v.
State, 813 So.2d 694, 699-700 (Miss. 2002) (citing Crawford v. State, 754 So.2d 1211, 1222 (Miss. 2000)); Birkley v. State, 750 So.2d at 1255; McNeal v.
State, 617 So.2d 999, 1009 (Miss. 1993).
.213. This Court has adequately addressed Howell's concerns in its discussion of the prior issues. Further, the trial court did not abuse its
discretion in denying the post-trial motion for
new trial. No unconscionable injustice is sanctioned by allowing the jury verdict to stand. Looking at all the evidence in the light that is most
consistent to the jury verdict, there is
substantial evidence in the record that reasonable and fair-minded jurors would have found
Howell guilty of capital murder. Accordingly, this issue is without merit.
XXVIII. Proportionality of the Death Penalty in this Case
.214. This Court must perform a proportionality review when reviewing a death sentence in a capital case pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. . 99-19-105(3) (
Rev. 2000). Section
99-19-105(3) states:
(3) With regard to the sentence, the court shall determine:
(a) Whether the sentence of death was imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice or any other arbitrary
factor;
(b) Whether the evidence supports the jury's or judge's finding of a statutory aggravating circumstance as
enumerated in Section 99-19-101;
(c) Whether the sentence of death is excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases,
considering both the crime and the defendant; and
(d) Should one or more of the aggravating circumstances be found invalid on appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court
shall determine whether the remaining aggravating
circumstances are outweighed by the mitigating
circumstances or whether the inclusion of any invalid
circumstance was harmless error, or both.
.215. After reviewing the record in this appeal as well as the death penalty cases listed in the attached appendix, we find that Howell's death
sentence was not imposed under the
influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor. The evidence is more than
sufficient to support the jury's finding of the two statutory aggravating circumstances being
namely, a capital offense committed in the course of a robbery for pecuniary gain and by
person under a sentence of imprisonment, probation or parole. Further, in comparison to
other factually similar cases where the death sentence was imposed, the sentence of death is
neither excessive or disproportionate in this case. Finally, we find that the jury did not
consider any invalid aggravating circumstances. Therefore, this Court affirms the death
sentence imposed in this case.
CONCLUSION
.216. Finding no reversible error, we affirm the judgment of the Union County Circuit Court.
.217. CONVICTION OF CAPITAL MURDER AND SENTENCE OF DEATH BY LETHAL INJECTION, AFFIRMED.
SMITH, P.J., AND CARLSON, J., CONCUR. COBB, J., CONCURS IN PART AND IN RESULT. WALLER, J., CONCURS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN
OPINION JOINED BY PITTMAN, C.J., COBB AND CARLSON, JJ. GRAVES, J.,
JOINS IN PART. GRAVES, J., DISSENTS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN
OPINION JOINED BY McRAE, P.J. DIAZ, J., NOT PARTICIPATING.
WALLER, JUSTICE, CONCURRING:
.218. While I concur with the majority opinion in the result of an affirmance of Howell's conviction and death sentence, I write to express
reservations about an indigent defendant
being refused funding for expert services because his attorney was acting pro bono.
.219. We should encourage members of the Bar to take complex criminal cases pro bono. To deny a defendant what is customarily afforded an indigent
defendant simply because
counsel is pro bono sends the wrong message to the Bar and will have a chilling effect on
attorneys volunteering to represent indigent defendants accused of capital offenses due to the
costs associated with defending a capital case.
.220. Other jurisdictions have addressed whether an indigent defendant who is represented by private counsel is entitled to public funds to retain an
expert. The Delaware Supreme
Court has set out a procedure to determine whether an indigent defendant represented by
private counsel could receive public funding for expert services. See Chao v. State, 780 A.2d 1060, 1063 (Del. 2001). To receive funding, the trial court
must determine whether (1)
the defendant is indigent; (2) counsel is serving pro bono; (3) it would be inappropriate to
require private counsel to withdraw in favor of a public defender; and (4) the services are
necessary for adequate representation. Id.
.221. Although a procedure similar to the one given by the Delaware court would not help Howell in the present case because he has shown no prejudice,
it would be useful in future
cases to encourage members of the Bar to volunteer to represent indigent criminal defendants
with the assurance that the necessary tools for an adequate defense will be provided.
PITTMAN, C.J., COBB AND CARLSON, JJ., JOIN THIS OPINION. GRAVES, J., JOINS IN PART.
GRAVES, JUSTICE, DISSENTING:
.222. With deference to both my colleague on the circuit court and my colleagues in the majority, I am convinced that three errors below deprived Marlon Latodd Howell of a fair
trial. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.
A. Failure to find that the State's peremptory strikes of African- American venire members was racially discriminatory.
.223. Unfortunately in so many cases voir dire has become an exercise in finding race neutral reasons to justify racially motivated strikes. As Justice
Marshall predicted, "[m]erely allowing defendants the opportunity to challenge the racially discriminatory use of
peremptory challenges in individual cases will not end the illegitimate use of the peremptory
challenge." Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 105, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 1727, 90 L. Ed. 2d 69 (1986) (Marshall, J., concurring). The case sub judice is another
example of the improper use
of peremptory strikes to exclude African-American jurors.
.224. In this case, the State exercised peremptory challenges against Juror No. 34 ("High") and Juror No. 68 ("Wade"), the only two African-American
jurors on the venire considered by the State for service. The State exercised peremptory challenges on both
jurors, thus eliminating any African-American jurors from service in the trial of Howell, an
African-American defendant.
.225. The State's proffered reason for striking juror High was that he had several arrests and a recent charge for public drunk. The State further
indicated that one of the District Attorneys
involved in the case had been in an automobile accident in front of High's brother's house
and he believed that High had witnessed the accident but refused to tell officers what he had
seen. As for juror Wade, the State indicated that there was an arrest warrant in Lee County
issued for Wade for receiving stolen property and that Wade had not been forthcoming in his
questionnaire as to criminal activity which would have prevented him from being fair and
impartial.
.226. It is fundamentally unfair that the reasons proffered by the State were not brought up, discussed with or produced to defense counsel at any
time prior to or during voir dire.
Further, the matters were never raised during voir dire of jurors High and Wade. Neither
High nor Wade was given an opportunity to respond to the truthfulness or accuracy of these
allegations. This is exactly the type of information that should be revealed prior to voir dire
because without it the defense is denied the opportunity to evaluate and test the veracity and
accuracy of the information which the State used as the basis for its challenges. A review
of the record reveals that jurors High and Wade were never asked any specific questions by
the State regarding the matters which were subsequently used as reasons to strike them.
.227. In support of its alleged race-neutral reason for striking juror Wade the State produced Exhibit No. "1-A." While the first page of this exhibit
refers to Anthony Wade, another last
name appearing to be "Haney" was struck from the arrest warrant This exhibit also reflects
that this charge was made in 1994 and was later dismissed in justice court without
prosecution. This charge could have been dismissed for any number of reasons, one being
that the State had charged the wrong person. The State failed to produce this information to
defense counsel, failed to ask any questions regarding it, and failed to provide any indicia of
reliability. Despite all of these failures, the State was allowed to strike an African-American
from the venire. Further, the State presented no documentation to support its contention that
juror High "had several arrests" and a recent charge for public drunk or that juror High in
fact observed any accident in which the District Attorney had been involved.
.228. This Court in Mack v. State, 650 So.2d 1289, 1298 (Miss. 1994), stated :
The failure to voir dire usually comes in to play when the prosecutor expresses some suspicion or uncertainty about the true situation involving the
juror, such
as when he "believes" that the juror is related to a criminal, or has been
involved in some activities which might engender a negative attitude toward
the defendant. This factor is closely related to the lack of an evidentiary basis.
Here, the fact that Mitchell was unemployed was reflected in the jury
questionnaire. The prosecutor was not acting on a mere suspicion. Still, voir dire on this issue may have revealed an explanation for this status which
would not have been consistent with assumptions regarding the stability and
community values of the unemployed. The failure to conduct voir dire must weigh against the state in an evaluation of the bona fides of the proffered
reason.
In the Batson formulation, the relationship of the reason to the facts of the case is to be considered. The usual role given this circumstance is as
another factor
tending to show that the proffered reason is pretextual. See Whitsey 796 S.W.2d at 714-15; State v. Slappy, 522 So.2d 18, 23-24 (Fla.1988). This too,
must weigh against the state. Nothing about the facts of this case suggests that
a juror's employment status should be an issue.
.229. This Court, in Mack, went on to state that such a failure must be weighed in light of the relative strength of the prima facie case of
discrimination. In the case at bar, the
defendant was black, the victim was white, the jury seated was all white, and the only two
black venire members available for selection were struck by the State. If the State intends
to use information obtained outside of the voir dire process, it must make that information
available to the defendant before peremptory challenges are made so that the defendant has
the opportunity to investigate the truthfulness and accuracy of the reasons given by the State
in striking the only black jurors available for service.
.230. Howell made a prima facie showing that the prosecutor exercised peremptory challenges on the basis of race. Howell has shown that the State
failed to articulate the race-
neutral explanation to strike the jurors in question and purposely eliminated any black jurors
from sitting on a jury in the trial of a case involving a black man accused of killing a white
man in a predominately white county. The race-neutral reasons given by the State were
unexplored during voir dire and were based upon pretrial investigation of jurors High and
Wade to which the defense was not privileged nor apprised of during voir dire examination.
.231. This Court in Mack, 650 So. 2d at 1299, declined to extend then Unif. Crim. R. Cir. Ct. 4.06 to information concerning prospective jurors.
However, this Court did indicate that
the prosecutor may not withhold information concerning a prospective juror which impacts upon the juror's ability to be fair and impartial. Allowing the
State to present
uncorroborated facts and information to the court in support of its peremptory challenge of
black jurors after the voir dire process has been completed denies Howell the basic fairness guaranteed under the Constitution and rewards the State for
failure to ask any relevant
questions of High and Wade. I would urge this Court to expand Mack, in recognition of due process, and require pretrial disclosure of information concerning
members of the venire and,
at a minimum, require the party attempting to exercise the peremptory strike, to question the
person who is the object of that strike, before it may challenge them.
B. Failure to allow Howell to conduct individual sequestered voir dire of jurors who indicated a predisposition in the case.
.232. Prior to trial, defense counsel filed a motion requesting individual sequestered voir dire which the court reserved ruling on pending
responses from the venire panel. Defense
counsel again requested the right to individually voir dire jurors who had indicated they had
read articles or seen information about the case on television and in particular inquire about
the facts concerning the alleged motive of robbery and the mention of Howell's previous
drug conviction in newspapers. The court denied these requests.
.233. Howell should have been granted the opportunity to individually voir dire jurors to inquire as to opinions that these jurors had admitted to
having on their juror information
forms, and not taint other jurors who had expressed no prejudgment of Howell's guilt. In
fact, 37 of the 59 jurors remaining for selection either responded that they had a relationship
with the defendant, his family, the victim or his family, or had knowledge of the case, and
in some cases the juror had formed an opinion. To require defense counsel to question jurors
regarding their knowledge of Howell's criminal background, which had been discussed in
local newspapers multiple times prior to the start of the trial, would have highly prejudiced
Howell's chances of getting a fair and impartial jury.
.234. This Court in Carr v. State, 655 So.2d 824, 842 (Miss. 1995), addressed the right of the defendant to conduct individual voir dire. The Court
noted that under then existent Rule
5.05 of the Mississippi Uniform Criminal Rules of Circuit Court Practice, the defendant is
granted the right to conduct individual voir dire at the discretion of the trial court. However,
the trial court must be aware of the heightened publicity surrounding capital murder cases
and the possibility, if not probability, of tainting unbiased jurors with information gained
outside of the courtroom. The U.S. Supreme Court has noted the importance of the ability
to individually voir dire members of the venire in Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333,362, 86 S. Ct. 1507, 16 L. Ed. 2d 600 (1966), stating that the danger
of general voir dire is that
the panel members not only hear prejudicial information, but also learn the desired response
to questions.
.235. During voir dire, jurors repeatedly responded that they had knowledge of the facts of this case. To require the defendant to voir dire those
jurors as to their knowledge of the
defendant's previous criminal activity would contaminate the entire jury pool. Due to the
persuasiveness of modern communication and the difficulty of erasing prejudicial publicity
from the minds of jurors, the trial court should have allowed sequestered voir dire to
eliminate prejudice and prejudgment of a jury sitting in the trial of a capital murder case.
C. Allowing the State, in closing argument, to refer to Howell's failure to tell somebody about his alibi defense or give details.
.236. The prosecution in closing arguments stated: "If you had an alibi and were accused of Capital Murder, don't you think you would tell somebody
about it. Don't you think you
would give some details. Done something, that is common sense."
.237. This Court noted in Taylor v. State, 672 So.2d 1246, 1266 (Miss. 1996), that the prosecution is prohibited from making a direct comment or
reference by innuendo or
insinuation to a defendant's failure to testify on his behalf. The prosecution's statement in
closing argument here can only be construed as a comment on Howell's failure to take the
stand and give details concerning his alibi. Considering that the prosecution was well aware
of the two witnesses who testified as to Howell's whereabouts supporting his alibi, the
prosecution's argument can only apply to Howell. In fact, the prosecution's use of the
phrases "don't you think you would tell somebody, don't you think you would give some
details", can, in my opinion, only be referring to Howell's failure to testify on his own behalf.
.238. Because these three errors deprived Howell of a fair trial, I would reverse the circuit court's judgment and remand this case for a new trial.
.239. It is for the foregoing reasons that I respectfully dissent.
McRAE, P.J., JOINS THIS OPINION.
APPENDIX
DEATH CASES AFFIRMED BY THIS COURT
Walker v. State, 815 So.2d 1209 (Miss. 2002). *following remand.
Bishop v. State, 812 So.2d 934 (Miss. 2002).
Stevens v. State, 806 So.2d 1031 (Miss. 2002).
Grayson v. State, 806 So.2d 241 (Miss. 2002).
Knox v. State, 805 So.2d 527 (Miss. 2002).
Simmons v. State, 805 So.2d 452 (Miss. 2002).
Berry v. State, 802 So.2d 1033 (Miss. 2001).
Snow v. State, 800 So.2d 472 (Miss. 2001).
Mitchell v. State, 792 So.2d 192 (Miss. 2001).
Puckett v. State, 788 So.2d 752 (Miss. 2001). * following remand.
Goodin v. State, 787 So.2d 639 (Miss. 2001).
Jordan v. State, 786 So.2d 987 (Miss. 2001).
Manning v. State, 765 So.2d 516 (Miss. 2000). *following remand.
Eskridge v. State, 765 So.2d 508 (Miss. 2000).
McGilberry v. State, 741 So. 2d 894 (Miss. 1999).
Puckett v. State, 737 So. 2d 322 (Miss. 1999). *remanded for Batson hearing.
Manning v. State, 735 So. 2d 323 (Miss. 1999). *remanded for Batson hearing.
Hughes v. State, 735 So. 2d 238 (Miss. 1999).
Turner v. State, 732 So. 2d 937 (Miss. 1999).
Smith v. State, 729 So. 2d 1191 (Miss. 1998).
Burns v. State, 729 So. 2d 203 (Miss. 1998).
Jordan v. State, 728 So. 2d 1088 (Miss. 1998).
Gray v. State, 728 So. 2d 36 (Miss. 1998).
Manning v. State, 726 So. 2d 1152 (Miss. 1998).
Woodward v. State, 726 So. 2d 524 (Miss. 1997).
DEATH CASES AFFIRMED BY THIS COURT
(continued)
Bell v. State, 725 So. 2d 836 (Miss. 1998).
Evans v. State, 725 So. 2d 613 (Miss. 1997).
Brewer v. State, 725 So. 2d 106 (Miss. 1998).
Crawford v. State, 716 So. 2d 1028 (Miss. 1998).
Doss v. State, 709 So. 2d 369 (Miss. 1996).
Underwood v. State, 708 So. 2d 18 (Miss. 1998).
Holland v. State, 705 So. 2d 307 (Miss. 1997).
Wells v. State, 698 So. 2d 497 (Miss. 1997).
Wilcher v. State, 697 So. 2d 1087 (Miss. 1997).
Wiley v. State, 691 So. 2d 959 (Miss. 1997).
Brown v. State, 690 So. 2d 276 (Miss. 1996).
Simon v. State, 688 So. 2d 791 (Miss.1997).
Jackson v. State, 684 So. 2d 1213 (Miss. 1996).
Williams v. State, 684 So. 2d 1179 (Miss. 1996).
Davis v. State, 684 So. 2d 643 (Miss. 1996).
Taylor v. State, 682 So. 2d. 359 (Miss. 1996).
Brown v. State, 682 So. 2d 340 (Miss. 1996).
Blue v. State, 674 So. 2d 1184 (Miss. 1996).
Holly v. State, 671 So. 2d 32 (Miss. 1996).
Walker v. State, 671 So. 2d 581(Miss. 1995).
Russell v. State, 670 So. 2d 816 (Miss. 1995).
Ballenger v. State, 667 So. 2d 1242 (Miss. 1995).
Davis v. State, 660 So. 2d 1228 (Miss. 1995).
Carr v. State, 655 So. 2d 824 (Miss. 1995).
DEATH CASES AFFIRMED BY THIS COURT
(continued)
Mack v. State, 650 So. 2d 1289 (Miss. 1994).
Chase v. State, 645 So. 2d 829 (Miss. 1994).
Foster v. State, 639 So. 2d 1263 (Miss. 1994).
Conner v. State, 632 So. 2d 1239 (Miss. 1993).
Hansen v. State, 592 So. 2d 114 (Miss. 1991).
*Shell v. State, 554 So. 2d 887 (Miss. 1989), Shell v. Mississippi, 498 U.S. 1 (1990) reversing, in part, and remanding, Shell v. State, 595 So. 2d
1323 (Miss. 1992) remanding for new sentencing hearing.
Davis v. State, 551 So. 2d 165 (Miss. 1989).
Minnick v. State, 551 So. 2d 77 (Miss. 1989).
*Pinkney v. State, 538 So. 2d 329 (Miss. 1989), Pinkney v. Mississippi, 494 U.S. 1075 (1990) vacating and remanding Pinkney v. State, 602 So. 2d 1177 (
Miss. 1992) remanding for new sentencing hearing.
*Clemons v. State, 535 So. 2d 1354 (Miss. 1988), Clemons v. Mississippi, 494 U.S. 738 (1990) vacating and remanding, Clemons v. State, 593 So. 2d 1004 (
Miss. 1992) remanding for new sentencing hearing.
Woodward v. State, 533 So. 2d 418 (Miss. 1988).
Nixon v. State, 533 So. 2d 1078 (Miss. 1987).
Cole v. State, 525 So. 2d 365 (Miss. 1987).
Lockett v. State, 517 So. 2d 1346 (Miss. 1987).
Lockett v. State, 517 So. 2d 1317 (Miss. 1987).
Faraga v. State, 514 So. 2d 295 (Miss. 1987).
DEATH CASES AFFIRMED BY THIS COURT
(continued)
*Jones v. State, 517 So. 2d 1295 (Miss. 1987), Jones v. Mississippi, 487 U.S. 1230 (1988) vacating and remanding, Jones v. State, 602 So. 2d 1170 (
Miss. 1992) remanding for new sentencing hearing.
Wiley v. State, 484 So. 2d 339 (Miss. 1986).
Johnson v. State, 477 So. 2d 196 (Miss. 1985).
Gray v. State, 472 So. 2d 409 (Miss. 1985).
Cabello v. State, 471 So. 2d 332 (Miss. 1985).
Jordan v. State, 464 So. 2d 475 (Miss. 1985).
Wilcher v. State, 455 So. 2d 727 (Miss. 1984).
Billiot v. State, 454 So. 2d 445 (Miss. 1984).
Stringer v. State, 454 So. 2d 468 (Miss. 1984).
Dufour v. State, 453 So. 2d 337 (Miss. 1984).
Neal v. State, 451 So. 2d 743 (Miss. 1984).
Booker v. State, 449 So. 2d 209 (Miss. 1984).
Wilcher v. State, 448 So. 2d 927 (Miss. 1984).
Caldwell v. State, 443 So. 2d 806 (Miss. 1983).
Irving v. State, 441 So. 2d 846 (Miss. 1983).
Tokman v. State, 435 So. 2d 664 (Miss. 1983).
Leatherwood v. State, 435 So. 2d 645 (Miss. 1983).
Hill v. State, 432 So. 2d 427 (Miss. 1983).
Pruett v. State, 431 So. 2d 1101 (Miss. 1983).
Gilliard v. State, 428 So. 2d 576 (Miss. 1983).
Evans v. State, 422 So. 2d 737 (Miss. 1982).
King v. State, 421 So. 2d 1009 (Miss. 1982).
DEATH CASES AFFIRMED BY THIS COURT
(continued)
Wheat v. State, 420 So. 2d 229 (Miss. 1982).
Smith v. State, 419 So. 2d 563 (Miss. 1982).
Johnson v. State, 416 So. 2d 383 (Miss.1982).
Edwards v. State, 413 So. 2d 1007 (Miss. 1982).
Bullock v. State, 391 So. 2d 601 (Miss. 1980).
Reddix v. State, 381 So. 2d 999 (Miss. 1980).
Jones v. State, 381 So. 2d 983 (Miss. 1980).
Culberson v. State, 379 So. 2d 499 (Miss. 1979).
Gray v. State, 375 So. 2d 994 (Miss. 1979).
Jordan v. State, 365 So. 2d 1198 (Miss. 1978).
Voyles v. State, 362 So. 2d 1236 (Miss. 1978).
Irving v. State, 361 So. 2d 1360 (Miss. 1978).
Washington v. State, 361 So. 2d 6l (Miss. 1978).
Bell v. State, 360 So. 2d 1206 (Miss. 1978).
* Case was originally affirmed in this Court but on remand from U. S. Supreme
Court, case was remanded by this Court for a new sentencing hearing.
DEATH CASES REVERSED AS TO GUILT PHASE
AND SENTENCE PHASE
Flowers v. Sate, 842 So.2d 531 (Miss. 2003).
Randall v. State, 806 So. 2d 185 (Miss. 2002).
Flowers v. State, 773 So.2d 309 (Miss. 2000).
Edwards v. State, 737 So. 2d 275 (Miss. 1999).
Smith v. State, 733 So. 2d 793 (Miss. 1999).
Porter v. State, 732 So.2d 899 (Miss. 1999).
Kolberg v. State, 704 So. 2d 1307 (Miss. 1997).
Snelson v. State, 704 So. 2d 452 (Miss. 1997).
Fusilier v. State, 702 So. 2d 388 (Miss. 1997).
Howard v. State, 701 So. 2d 274 (Miss. 1997).
Lester v. State, 692 So. 2d 755 (Miss. 1997).
Hunter v. State, 684 So. 2d 625 (Miss. 1996).
Lanier v. State, 684 So. 2d 93 (Miss. 1996).
Giles v. State, 650 So. 2d 846 (Miss. 1995).
Duplantis v. State, 644 So. 2d 1235 (Miss. 1994).
Harrison v. State, 635 So. 2d 894 (Miss. 1994).
Butler v. State, 608 So. 2d 314 (Miss. 1992).
Jenkins v. State, 607 So. 2d 1171 (Miss. 1992).
Abram v. State, 606 So. 2d 1015 (Miss. 1992).
Balfour v. State, 598 So. 2d 731 (Miss. 1992).
Griffin v. State, 557 So. 2d 542 (Miss. 1990).
Bevill v. State, 556 So. 2d 699 (Miss. 1990).
West v. State, 553 So. 2d 8 (Miss. 1989).
Leatherwood v. State, 548 So. 2d 389 (Miss. 1989).
Mease v. State, 539 So. 2d 1324 (Miss. 1989).
DEATH CASES REVERSED AS TO GUILT PHASE
AND SENTENCE PHASE
(continued)
Houston v. State, 531 So. 2d 598 (Miss. 1988).
West v. State, 519 So. 2d 418 (Miss. 1988).
Davis v. State, 512 So. 2d 129l (Miss. 1987).
Williamson v. State, 512 So. 2d 868 (Miss. 1987).
Foster v. State, 508 So. 2d 1111 (Miss. 1987).
Smith v. State, 499 So. 2d 750 (Miss. 1986).
West v. State, 485 So. 2d 681 (Miss. 1985).
Fisher v. State, 481 So. 2d 203 (Miss. 1985).
Johnson v. State, 476 So. 2d 1195 (Miss. 1985).
Fuselier v. State, 468 So. 2d 45 (Miss. 1985).
West v. State, 463 So. 2d 1048 (Miss. 1985).
Jones v. State, 461 So. 2d 686 (Miss. 1984).
Moffett v. State, 456 So. 2d 714 (Miss. 1984).
Lanier v. State, 450 So. 2d 69 (Miss. 1984).
Laney v. State, 421 So. 2d 1216 (Miss. 1982).
DEATH CASES REVERSED
AS TO PUNISHMENT AND REMANDED
FOR RESENTENCING TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT
Reddix v. State, 547 So. 2d 792 (Miss. 1989).
Wheeler v. State, 536 So. 2d 1341 (Miss. 1988).
White v. State, 532 So. 2d 1207 (Miss. 1988).
Bullock v. State, 525 So. 2d 764 (Miss. 1987).
Edwards v. State, 441 So. 2d 84 (Miss. l983).
Dycus v. State, 440 So. 2d 246 (Miss. 1983).
Coleman v. State, 378 So. 2d 640 (Miss. 1979).
DEATH CASES REVERSED AS TO
PUNISHMENT AND REMANDED FOR A NEW TRIAL
ON SENTENCING PHASE ONLY
King v. State, 784 So.2d 884 (Miss. 2001).
Walker v. State, 740 So.2d 873 (Miss. 1999).
Watts v. State, 733 So.2d 214 (Miss. 1999).
West v. State, 725 So. 2d 872 (Miss. 1998).
Smith v. State, 724 So. 2d 280 (Miss. 1998).
Berry v. State, 703 So. 2d 269 (Miss. 1997).
Booker v. State, 699 So. 2d 132 (Miss. 1997).
Taylor v. State, 672 So. 2d 1246 (Miss. 1996).
*Shell v. State, 554 So. 2d 887 (Miss. 1989), Shell v. Mississippi, 498 U.S. 1 (1990) reversing, in part, and remanding, Shell v. State 595 So. 2d
1323 (Miss. 1992) remanding for new sentencing hearing.
*Pinkney v. State, 538 So. 2d 329 (Miss. 1989), Pinkney v. Mississippi, 494 U.S. 1075 (1990) vacating and remanding, Pinkney v. State, 602 So. 2d
1177 (Miss. 1992) remanding for new sentencing hearing.
*Clemons v. State, 535 So. 2d 1354 (Miss. 1988), Clemons v. Mississippi, 494 U.S. 738 (1990) vacating and remanding, Clemons v. State, 593 So. 2d
1004 (Miss. 1992) remanding for new sentencing hearing.
*Jones v. State, 517 So. 2d 1295 (Miss. 1987), Jones v. Mississippi, 487 U.S. 1230 (1988) vacating and remanding, Jones v. State, 602 So. 2d 1170 (
Miss. 1992) remanding for new sentencing hearing.
Russell v. State, 607 So. 2d 1107 (Miss. 1992).
Holland v. State, 587 So. 2d 848 (Miss. 1991).
Willie v. State, 585 So. 2d 660 (Miss. 1991).
Ladner v. State, 584 So. 2d 743 (Miss. 1991).
Mackbee v. State, 575 So. 2d 16 (Miss. 1990).
DEATH CASES REVERSED AS TO
PUNISHMENT AND REMANDED FOR A NEW TRIAL
ON SENTENCING PHASE ONLY
(continued)
Berry v. State, 575 So. 2d 1 (Miss. 1990).
Turner v. State, 573 So. 2d 657 (Miss. 1990).
State v. Tokman, 564 So. 2d 1339 (Miss. 1990).
Johnson v. State, 547 So. 2d 59 (Miss. 1989).
Williams v. State, 544 So. 2d 782 (Miss. 1989); sentence aff'd 684 So. 2d 1179 (1996).
Lanier v. State, 533 So. 2d 473 (Miss. 1988).
Stringer v. State, 500 So. 2d 928 (Miss. 1986).
Pinkton v. State, 481 So. 2d 306 (Miss. 1985).
Mhoon v. State, 464 So. 2d 77 (Miss. 1985).
Cannaday v. State, 455 So. 2d 713 (Miss. 1984).
Wiley v. State, 449 So. 2d 756 (Miss. 1984); resentencing affirmed, Wiley v. State, 484 So. 2d 339 (Miss. 1986), cert. denied Wiley v. Mississippi, 479 U.S. 1036 (1988); resentencing ordered, Wiley v. State, 635 So. 2d 802 (Miss. 1993) following writ of habeas corpus issued pursuant to Wiley v. Puckett, 969 So. 2d 86, 105-106 (5th Cir. 1992); resentencing affirmed, Wiley v. State, 95-DP-00149, February 13, 1997 (rehearing pending).
Williams v. State, 445 So. 2d 798 (Miss. 1984). * Case was originally affirmed in this Court but on remand from U. S. Supreme Court, case was remanded by this Court for a new sentencing hearing.