234
Opinion of the Court
Given that petitioner's jury was adequately instructed, and given that the trial judge responded to the jury's question by directing its attention to the precise paragraph of the constitutionally adequate instruction that answers its inquiry, the question becomes whether the Constitution requires anything more. We hold that it does not.
A jury is presumed to follow its instructions. Richardson v. Marsh, 481 U. S. 200, 211 (1987). Similarly, a jury is presumed to understand a judge's answer to its question. See, e. g., Armstrong v. Toler, 11 Wheat. 258, 279 (1826) (opinion of Marshall, C. J.). Weeks' jury did not inform the court that after reading the relevant paragraph of the instruction, it still did not understand its role. See ibid. ("Had the jury desired further information, they might, and probably would, have signified their desire to the court. The utmost willingness was manifested to gratify them, and it may fairly be presumed that they had nothing further to ask"). To presume otherwise would require reversal every time a jury inquires about a matter of constitutional significance, regardless of the judge's answer.
Here the presumption gains additional support from several empirical factors. First and foremost, each of the jurors affirmed in open court the verdict which included a finding that they had "considered the evidence in mitigathe third paragraph of the instruction, post, at 239-240. That paragraph expressly applies when the jury finds that the prosecution failed to prove either aggravating circumstance. Specifically, it instructs that if the jury finds no aggravating circumstances, then it must impose a life sentence. See n. 1, supra. The third paragraph stands in contrast to the second paragraph, which expressly applies when the jury finds that the prosecution proved one or both of the aggravating circumstances. The second paragraph offers the jury the option of imposing whichever sentence— death or life imprisonment—it feels is justified in that situation. The existence of the third paragraph makes the function of the second paragraph even clearer.
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