Cite as: 518 U. S. 152 (1996)
Ginsburg, J., dissenting
The Sorrell murders "were one of the most highly publicized crimes in the history of the Tidewater, Virginia area." App. 341. In December 1984, five days after they were reported missing, Lisa and Shanta Sorrell were found dead in a partially burned car in Chesapeake, Virginia, a city that shares borders with Suffolk. Lisa's body was slumped in the front passenger seat of the car; she had been shot in the head six times. Shanta had been removed from her car seat and locked in the trunk, where she died after inhaling smoke produced by the fire in the car's passenger compartment. Neither Gray nor anyone else has ever been charged with commission of the Sorrell murders.2
In response to defense counsel's disclosure request, the prosecutor told Gray's lawyers and the court that he would introduce "statements" Gray had made to other inmates in which Gray allegedly admitted killing the Sorrells. The following exchange then took place between defense counsel Moore and prosecutor Ferguson:
"MR. MOORE: Is it going to be evidence or just his statement?
"MR. FERGUSON: Statements that your client made. "MR. MOORE: Nothing other than statements? "MR. FERGUSON: To other people, that's correct. Statements made by your client that he did these things." 3 J. A. 1331 (emphasis added).
2 That Gray had not been convicted of killing the Sorrells would not, under Virginia law, bar admission of evidence relating to those crimes during the penalty phase of his trial. One of Virginia's two aggravating circumstances requires the jury to determine whether "there is a probability that the defendant would commit criminal acts of violence that would constitute a continuing serious threat to society." Va. Code Ann. § 19.2- 264.2 (1995). The Virginia Supreme Court has held that "evidence of prior unadjudicated criminal conduct . . . may be used in the penalty phase to prove the defendant's propensity to commit criminal acts of violence in the future." Watkins v. Commonwealth, 229 Va. 469, 488, 331 S. E. 2d 422, 436 (1985).
173
Page: Index Previous 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007