Breckenridge v. State, 628 So.2d 1012, 1018 (Ala.Crim.App.1993). Dr. Franco testified: That bead tells me that it's on the TV power cord. Hatcher v. State, 646 So.2d 676, 679 (Ala.1994) quoting Bowden v. State, 538 So.2d 1226, 1235 (Ala.1988). However, the inquiry does not end there. Gunn v. State, 387 So.2d 280 (Ala.Cr.App. He said the following concerning the outlets: The plugs appeared to have external damage. The weight to be given that mitigating circumstance should depend upon the number of jurors recommending a sentence of life imprisonment without parole, and also upon the strength of the factual basis for such a recommendation in the form of information known to the jury, such as conflicting evidence concerning the identity of the triggerman or a recommendation of leniency by the victim's family; the jury's recommendation may be overridden based upon information known only to the trial court and not to the jury, when such information can properly be used to undermine a mitigating circumstance.. He makes two separate arguments in support of this claim. Morris Brown, a former firearms and toolsmark expert with the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, testified that in his opinion the smoke detector had been forcibly removed, or pulled from the wall, before the fire started and it was lying on the floor, undamaged by the fire. Even if the evidence of the fire that was ruled accidental was subject to review under Rule 404(b), Ala. R. Biological evidence is not governed by 122113, Ala.Code 1975, because it is not readily identifiable. See Haney. The United States Supreme Court, the Alabama Supreme Court, and this court have all upheld the practice of double counting. 482, 115 So.2d 667 (1959) (recognizing that the identity exception is applicable only where both the prior crime and the charged offense were committed in the same special or peculiar manner).. Do you understand that under the law there are certain intentional killings under the law where the death penalty isn't even an option and that the Legislature has set out certain types of murder where they have said that the death penalty is an option? We have a lot of details to those fires that we think would definitely establish a similar type of plan as [the prosecutor] already discussed to burn down houses to get insurance proceeds. After Cpt. I yelled to her that Mason was still in the house as I headed back to the house. The circuit court overruled the objection. There was also testimony that the day before the fire Scott had asked a teacher if her house was for sale. See State v. Youngblood, 173 Ariz. 502, 844 P.2d 1152, 1161 (1993) (Feldman, C.J., concurring in part and dissenting in part) (The answer [to the question whether the accused had a fundamentally fair trial despite the State's good faith failure to preserve evidence] is fact-intensive and depends on the quality and quantity of the other evidence, the type of evidence that was lost, its potential value for exculpatory purposes, and similar issues'). Scott next asserts that the prosecutor made improper victim-impact statements in his closing arguments in the guilt phase of Scott's trial that were immaterial to any issue of guilt and that amounted to error. We held that the destruction of the test samples did not deny the defendants due process of law because those defendants have failed to show any bad faith on the part of the prosecution. Gingo, 605 So.2d at 123637. Instead, Youngblood, created a single requirement that a defendant must meet to establish a constitutional violation: the defendant must show that, in destroying the evidence, the police acted in bad faith, If the defendant fails to make this showing, there is no constitutional violation and there is no relief.. It's literally impossible for me to have a fire over here in receptacle one that started over here. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. Cpt. Alabama has long held that [t]he prosecution may prove former acts of hostility by the accused toward the victim for the purpose of showing motive and malice. Carroll v. State, 370 So.2d 749, 759 (Ala.Crim.App.1979). 473.) In this instance, even if the Betheas could demonstrate that the trial court erred in not granting their request that L.A.C. 928 So.2d at 107273, quoting Charles W. Gamble, McElroy's Alabama Evidence 265.01(2) (5th ed.1996) (footnotes omitted).3 In deciding whether the declarant remained under the stress of excitement, the trial court may consider the context of the statement itself. McElroy's Alabama Evidence 265.01(2). And the instructions repeatedly told the jury to conside[r] all of the relevant evidence. Id., at 2974. 1312.) WebView the profiles of people named Christie Scott. [Deputy Edwards]: With the long pauses, again, with truthful answers, they come pretty quick. While the jury's recommendation concerning sentence shall be given consideration, it is not binding upon the court.. The Supreme Court stated the following concerning the scope of 13A547(e), Ala.Code 1975: We take this opportunity to further explain the effect of a jury's recommendation of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Quoting Justice Stevens' special concurrence in Youngblood, our Supreme Court further observed: Although to show bad faith, for the purpose of showing a due process violation, the defendant must show that the State had knowledge of the exculpatory value of the destroyed evidence, there may well be cases in which the defendant is unable to prove that the State acted in bad faith but in which the loss or destruction of evidence is nonetheless so critical to the defense as to make a criminal trial fundamentally unfair. Youngblood, 488 U.S. at 67, 109 S.Ct. ]: Well, maybe not every time because sometimes, you know, life without parole is just about as bad as death. 1868, 40 L.Ed.2d 431 (1974). Neither of the prosecutor's arguments so infected the trial with unfairness that Scott was denied due process. Prejudicial is used in this phrase to limit the introduction of probative evidence of prior misconduct only when it is unduly and unfairly prejudicial.' To do so was reversible error. In upholding Taylor's death sentence, the Alabama Supreme Court stated: In this case, the trial judge stated that [t]he sentence recommendation of a properly functioning jury is entitled to great respect. He reasoned, however, that [w]hile the jurors in this case were cooperative, harmonious, diligent, and attentive, some jurors' outbursts of emotion after they found the defendant guilty of capital murder indicated that they were overwhelmed by their impending duty to consider the death penalty as required by law. The trial judge then concluded that the crimes proved against Taylor were abominably aggravated and, at best, only faintly mitigated. Thus, the trial judge considered the jury's recommendation, as required by Alabama's death-penalty statute, but permissibly assessed it very little weight, given the particular circumstances of this case. : [A]s far as juror [M.W. We stated: In its order, the trial court outlined its reasons for overriding the jury's verdict recommending a sentence of life without parole. The appellant further contends that, in light of Ring [v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 122 S.Ct. Scott argues that the circuit court's jury instructions in the penalty phase were erroneous. Please try again. See Vanpelt v. State, 74 So.3d 32 (Ala.Crim.App.2009); Smith v. State, 908 So.2d 273 (Ala.Crim.App.2000); Sockwell v. State, 675 So.2d 4 (Ala.Crim.App.1993). They focused only on the overall balancing question. Conley v. State, 354 So.2d 1172, 1179 (Ala.Cr.App.1977). The Alabama Supreme Court in Ex parte Thomas, 601 So.2d 56 (Ala.1992), held that the State has the burden of articulating a clear, specific, and legitimate reason for the challenge that relates to the particular case to be tried and that is nondiscriminatory. 601 So.2d at 58, quoting Ex parte Bird, 594 So.2d 676, 679 (Ala.1991). denied, U.S. , 131 S.Ct. Given the facts presented in this case, the circuit court's failure to give the victim's family members wishes great weight does not conflict with the Supreme Court's decision in Carroll. [J.M. Initially, we question whether the admission of evidence of the January 12, 2006, fire was governed by Rule 404(b), Ala. R. 876.) You don't feel like you could set aside what you've heard and the fact you've workedwhen you say the boy's grandpa, are you talking. Join Facebook to connect with Scott Christie and others you may know. WebScott testified that after waking to discover her house was on fire, she attempted to rescue Mason, who was sleeping in his bedroom down the hall, but was turned back by thick If there is no evidence of bad faith, the sanction imposed by the trial court should be no more than is necessary to assure the defendant a fair trial. Witnesses testified that Scott had been cruel to Mason in public, the last time being on the morning of the fire when Scott took Mason to school where she spoke harshly to him and pushed him. Rhodes for cause, because of his having been on the jury which had tried another person jointly indicted with the defendant, yet it was error without injury, as the record shows that the defendant challenged said juror peremptorily, and that, when the jury was formed the defendant had not exhausted his right to peremptory challenges.. Scott next argues that the evidence of the other fires was not admissible to prove motive. And for what (inaudible) I've heard so much. Cpt. Scott showed no emotion, she said, she did not mention her son the entire time, and Scott and her husband bantered back and forth about the length of his hair. The circuit court's order was consistent with the provisions of 13A547(e), Ala.Code 1975, and with our holding in Harris v. State, 2 So.3d 880 (Ala.Crim.App.2008). Evid., is broad. Not only did [Scott] commit capital murder making her eligible for the death penalty, but three different elements were proven to make her eligible for the death penalty three different ways.. The circuit court denied the motion and indicated that it would see what happened during the voir dire examination. In the case sub judice, identity was very much in question at the appellant's trial, as he denied setting fire to his estranged wife's house, because there were no witnesses who could place him at the house at the time the blaze began. initially indicated that he thought a person who killed a child should be given the death penalty, upon further questioning C.M. Scott's argument is without merit. The following occurred during his direct examination: [Prosecutor]: [D]id you form an opinion as to whether all accidental nonintentional causes of the fire had been eliminated? at 2534. was not subject to a challenge for cause. 1297, 122 L.Ed.2d 687 (1993).. In the present case, seven made such a recommendation, the statutory minimum to allow a life without parole recommendation. (R. While it is true that it is not necessary for the prosecution to prove a motive for murder, if a motive is proveable, it certainly is relevant to a material issue which the state must provethe guilt of the accused. Fountain v. State, 681 S.W.2d 858, 864 (Tex.App.1984). (R. During voir dire of S.S., the following occurred: [Prosecutor]: Could you if it comes to this point in the trial, sit on the jury venire and during the sentencing phase and listen to the mitigating circumstances and the aggravating circumstances and fairly consider all of the options you have? Scott first argues that the circuit court violated the Supreme Court's holding in Carroll by disregarding the wishes of the victim's family and, in fact, using the victim's family's wishes to support a death sentence. denied, 507 U.S. 925, 113 S.Ct. The Florida Supreme Court has addressed a similar issue: Among the proposed jury instructions requested by Partin was an instruction to the jury that it was never required to recommend a sentence of death. [F]ailure to give special jury instructions does not constitute error where the instructions given adequately address the applicable legal standards. Coday v. State, 946 So.2d 988, 994 (Fla.2006) (quoting Stephens v. State, 787 So.2d 747, 755 (Fla.2001)). Consistent with the Supreme Court's holding in Ex parte Taylor, the circuit court considered the jury's recommendation as a mitigating circumstance and gave it great weight. 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