Castro v. State, 81731

• Decision Date: 08 September 1994
• Docket Number: No. 81731,81731
• Citation: 644 So.2d 987
• Parties: 19 Fla. L. Weekly S435 Edward CASTRO, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

Page 987

644 So.2d 987

19 Fla. L. Weekly S435

Edward CASTRO, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 81731.

Supreme Court of Florida.

Sept. 8, 1994.

Rehearing Denied Nov. 16, 1994.

James B. Gibson, Public Defender and George D.E. Burden, Asst. Public Defender, Daytona Beach, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen. and Dan Haun, Asst. Atty. Gen., Daytona Beach, for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

Edward Castro appeals the imposition of the death penalty on resentencing. We have jurisdiction based on article V, section 3(b)(1) of the Florida Constitution.

In 1988 Castro was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for strangling and stabbing Austin Scott. On appeal, this Court upheld Castro's conviction, but remanded for a new penalty hearing because of faulty jury instructions and the erroneous presentation of irrelevant, presumptively prejudicial evidence of collateral crimes. Castro v. State, 547 So.2d 111 (Fla.1989). Castro was sentenced to death in the new penalty phase, but this Court again remanded for a new penalty hearing because the trial court erred in refusing to disqualify the Fifth Circuit State Attorney's Office from prosecuting the case. Castro v. State, 597 So.2d 259 (Fla.1992).

At the new penalty phase, held in 1993, the jury voted eight to four to recommend death. In sentencing Castro to death, the trial judge found four aggravating factors: (1) Castro was previously convicted of another capital felony and of a crime involving the use or threat of violence toward another person; (2) Castro committed the murder during the commission of a robbery; (3) the murder was heinous, atrocious, or cruel; and (4) the murder was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification. The trial judge found no statutory mitigating factors, but found two nonstatutory mitigators (Castro suffered physical and sexual abuse as a child and Castro is an alcoholic). The trial court determined, however, that the aggravating factors overwhelmingly outweighed the mitigating evidence.

We affirm the death sentence imposed on Castro.

The relevant facts of this case are that Castro came to Ocala and drank heavily for several days. He decided to leave town and concluded that he needed to steal a car to do so. When Castro saw Scott coming out of an apartment, he introduced himself and the two drank together in the apartment. Castro left on the pretext of getting ten dollars. Instead, he retrieved a steak knife from a neighboring apartment. When Castro returned, he saw Scott leaving the apartment but convinced him to return. The two drank a beer, then Scott again decided to leave. Castro grabbed Scott by the throat and squeezed so hard that blood came out of Scott's mouth. Scott struggled and scratched, but Castro told him, "Hey, man, you've lost. Dig it?" Castro got the steak knife and stabbed Scott between five and fifteen times. The medical examiner testified that she did not know in what sequence the chest wounds were inflicted or whether Scott lost consciousness after the strangulation.

After killing Scott, Castro took Scott's car and drove to Lake City. When Castro stopped in Columbia County, a sheriff's deputy noticed that his speech was slurred, his eyes were bloodshot, and his breath smelled of alcohol. The deputy arrested Castro for disorderly intoxication after he became hostile toward officers. After his arrest, Castro made several statements about the murder.

Castro raises eleven issues on this direct appeal. ¹

We reject Castro's argument that the trial court impermissibly excused a juror for cause over defense objection. During voir dire, prospective juror Terry Strayer said his religious beliefs would prevent him from imposing the death penalty. Although he said in response to a defense question that he could set aside those beliefs and follow the law as given by the trial court, he also said he felt bound to follow a "higher law." He ultimately said he was not sure he could follow the trial court's instructions on this matter.

The United States Supreme Court has held that the standard for determining when a prospective juror may be excluded for cause because of his or her views on capital punishment is

whether the juror's views would "prevent or substantially impair the performance of his duties as a juror in accordance with his instructions and his oath." ... [T]his standard likewise does not require that a juror's bias be proved with unmistakable clarity.

Wainwright v. Witt, 469 U.S. 412, 424, 105 S.Ct. 844, 852, 83 L.Ed.2d 841 (1985) (footnote omitted) (quoting Adams v. Texas, 448 U.S. 38, 45, 100 S.Ct. 2521, 2526, 65 L.Ed.2d 581 (1980)). The trial judge has the duty to decide if a challenge for cause is proper, and this Court must give deference to the judge's determination of a prospective juror's qualifications. Witt, 469 U.S. at 426, 105 S.Ct. at 853.

The record here is not clear that Strayer was willing to consider all of the penalties provided by state law. See Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510, 522 n. 21, 88 S.Ct. 1770, 1777 n.21, 20 L.Ed.2d 776 (1968). Indeed, the record indicates that Strayer could not set aside his beliefs, so the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in granting the motion to excuse him for cause. Accordingly, this issue has no merit.

Castro also argues that the trial court should have struck eight jurors for cause because they were exposed to prejudicial pretrial publicity, they would automatically presume that death is the appropriate penalty, and they expressed doubts about their ability to be fair and impartial because they supported the death penalty. Castro claims he was forced to exercise peremptory challenges to remove jurors who should have been excused for cause and the trial judge refused to grant additional peremptory challenges. As a result, two jurors who read a prejudicial newspaper article served on the jury.

The local newspaper published an article the day before jury selection that said Castro would be resentenced. ² The trial judge conducted an individual voir dire of each prospective juror. Five of the eight prospective jurors at issue here said they had seen the article, but all said they had not formed any opinions about the case. Only one of these prospective jurors, Gloria Bell, actually served on the jury. The record reflects that Bell knew Castro was guilty of first-degree murder and did not remember anything else about the case. She did not say she knew Castro had twice been sentenced to death.

Because the defense had no more peremptory challenges, it could not remove a ninth prospective juror, Olive Milam, from the jury. Milam read part of the article and recalled that the case was being transferred from another county. Castro argues that the presence of Bell and Milam on the jury is significant, particularly because the panel recommended death by a vote of eight to four.

The mere fact that jurors were exposed to pretrial publicity is not enough to raise the presumption of unfairness. Bundy v. State, 471 So.2d 9, 19 (Fla.1985), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 894, 107 S.Ct. 295, 93 L.Ed.2d 269 (1986). "It is sufficient if the juror can lay aside his opinion or impression and render a verdict based on the evidence presented in court." Id. at 20. Here, the record indicates that the prospective jurors did not form any opinions about the case. In fact, after questioning from the defense, State, and trial judge, there is no indication that the prospective jurors even knew Castro had previously been sentenced to death. Thus, we find no error.

Some of the eight prospective jurors at issue here also expressed strong views in favor of the death penalty, but were not excused for cause. Jurors must be excused for cause if their beliefs prevent them from applying the law and discharging their sworn duty. Randolph v. State, 562 So.2d 331, 335 (Fla.), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 992, 111 S.Ct. 538, 112 L.Ed.2d 548 (1990). This is subject to an abuse of discretion review because the trial court has the opportunity to observe and evaluate the prospective juror's demeanor and credibility. Lambrix v. State, 494 So.2d 1143, 1146 (Fla.1986).

We find no error in the trial court's refusal to strike the prospective jurors for cause because of their views on the death penalty. It is obvious from the record that when questioning began the jurors had not been given any explanation about their role in the case. In fact, the trial judge expressed his frustration and said an explanation would be helpful to the prospective jurors, but none was given. Not surprisingly, the prospective jurors had no grounding in the intricacies of capital sentencing. Some of these jurors came to court with the reasonable misunderstanding that the presumed sentence for first-degree murder was death. When they were advised...