Woods v. State, 885

Citation557 N.E.2d 1325
Decision Date13 August 1990
Docket NumberNo. 885,885
PartiesDavid Leon WOODS, Appellant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee. S 343.
CourtSupreme Court of Indiana

DeBRULER, Justice.

This Court affirmed appellant's convictions for the murder and robbery of an elderly Hispanic man, Juan Placencia, at his apartment in Garrett, Indiana. Woods v. State (1989), Ind., 547 N.E.2d 772. The imposition of the penalty of death was affirmed as well. Appellant Woods has filed his petition for rehearing. A motion for oral argument accompanying the petition for rehearing was granted, and argument heard by the Court. All issues raised in this petition are resolved against him. The petition to rehear the case is, however, granted for the purpose of rendering a decision upon a claim previously undetected by this Court in the initial consideration of the appeal, namely, that the sentence of death should be set aside because of an arbitrariness in the Eighth Amendment sense in its rendition.

During the summation at the conclusion of the sentencing hearing before the jury, for the purpose of persuading the jury to recommend the sentence of death to the judge, the trial prosecutor made express mention of the physical frailty of the victim and the victim's family's grief, and also stated that appellant Woods had deprived the victim's family of the victim's company, that Woods was an executioner who deserved no more than what he gave his victim, and that the victim, before being killed by Woods, had not been given all the due process rights and benefits of a jury which appellant Woods had received. The statements made were intended to arouse feelings of sympathy for the victim and his family. They included the following:

"You can see that Juan Placencia gets a fair trial here folks."

"Last Christmas ... Juan's children and grandchildren couldn't meet with him and celebrate Christmas...."

"[Appellant] robbed ... [the victim's] children and his grandchildren of their father and grandfather...."

"Your decision ... will indicate ... whose life ... you value more, Juan Placencia's or the defendant's[.]"

There was no objection at trial or at the sentencing hearing to the evidence which tended to establish the factual premises of these remarks, nor were there objections to the remarks themselves.

In Booth v. Maryland, 482 U.S. 496, 107 S.Ct. 2529, 96 L.Ed.2d 440 (19...

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21 cases
  • Wisehart v. State, 48S00-9005-PD-378
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Indiana
    • March 19, 1998
    ...improper aggravating circumstances. This Court has rejected this claim. Woods v. State, 547 N.E.2d 772, 794 (Ind.1989), on reh'g, 557 N.E.2d 1325 (Ind.1990), cert. denied 501 U.S. 1259, 111 S.Ct. 2911, 115 L.Ed.2d 1074 (1991). Seventh, we also reject Wisehart's unsupported claim that the st......
  • Woods v. State, 06S00-9403-PD-224
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Indiana
    • November 23, 1998
    ...outlined in Woods' direct appeal affirming the convictions and sentence. Woods v. State, 547 N.E.2d 772 (Ind.1989), aff'd on reh'g, 557 N.E.2d 1325 (Ind.1990). Because Woods appeals from a negative judgment, this Court will reverse the denial of postconviction relief only if the evidence as......
  • Bivins v. State, 06S00-9105-DP-00401
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Indiana
    • November 4, 1994
    ...N.E.2d at 171. c. Consideration of Mercy Based upon his reading of Woods v. State (1989), Ind., 547 N.E.2d 772, 795, reh'g granted, (1990), 557 N.E.2d 1325, cert. denied, (1991), 501 U.S. 1259, 111 S.Ct. 2911, 115 L.Ed.2d 1074, the defendant next contends that the death penalty statute does......
  • Woods v. Anderson, Cause No. IP99-0520-C-M/S (S.D. Ind. 2/2/2004), Cause No. IP99-0520-C-M/S.
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 7th Circuit. United States District Court (Southern District of Indiana)
    • February 2, 2004
    ...jeopardy rights. Id. at 795. A second opinion, issued on rehearing, affirmed the convictions and sentence of death. See Woods v. State, 557 N.E.2d 1325 (Ind. 1990), cert. denied, 501 U.S. 1259 (1991). The Indiana Supreme Court then affirmed the trial court's denial of post-conviction relief......
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