Cite as: 532 U. S. 36 (2001)
Opinion of the Court
the presence of a statutory aggravator, "it shall not make a sentencing recommendation." § 16-3-20(C). "[T]he trial judge," in that event, "shall sentence the defendant to either life imprisonment or a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment for thirty years." Ibid.; see § 16-3-20(B). If, on the other hand, the jury unanimously finds a statutory aggravator, it then recommends one of two potential sentences— death or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. §§ 16-3-20(A), (B). No sentencing option other than death or life without parole is available to the jury.
During the sentencing proceeding in Shafer's case, the State introduced evidence of his criminal record, past aggressive conduct, probation violations, and misbehavior in prison. The State urged the statutory aggravating circumstance that Shafer had committed the murder in the course of an attempted robbery while armed with a deadly weapon. See § 16-3-20(C)(a)(1)(d). The defense presented evidence of Shafer's abusive childhood and mental problems.
Near the completion of the parties' sentencing presentations, the trial judge conducted an in camera hearing on jury instructions. Shafer's counsel maintained that due process, and our decision in Simmons v. South Carolina, 512 U. S. 154 (1994), required the judge to instruct that under South Carolina law a life sentence carries no possibility of parole. The prosecutor, in opposition, urged that Shafer was not entitled to a Simmons instruction because "the State has not argued at any point . . . that he would be a danger to anybody in the future, nor will we argue [that] in our closing argument . . . ." App. 161. Shafer's counsel replied: "The State cannot introduce evidence of future dangerousness, and then say we are not going to argue it and [thereby avoid] a charge on the law. . . . They have introduced [evidence of a] post arrest assault, [and] post arrest violations of the rules of the jail . . . . If you put a jailer on to say that [Shafer] is charged with assault . . . on [the jailer], that is future dangerousness." App. 162. Ruling that "the matter of parole
41
Page: Index Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007