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Commonwealth v. Ogrod12/30/2003
or, this argument does not warrant granting Appellant a new sentencing hearing.
Cross-examination of Appellant During Penalty Hearing
Appellant avers that, during the cross-examination of Appellant at the penalty phase, the prosecutor was permitted to ask questions beyond the scope of the direct examination of Appellant. Specifically, Appellant argues that the prosecutor should not have asked him whether or not Appellant dated; whether or not Appellant got along with people in his neighborhood; how the Green family came to live in his house; whether or not Appellant's father gave him his house; and whether or not Appellant was handing out circulars for his employer 's business on the date of the murder.
Although a defendant is entitled to testify and present witnesses to prove the mitigating circumstances, the Commonwealth is also entitled to cross-examine those witnesses and the defendant if he testifies, to establish whether they are to be believed. As we have explained:
Following the presentation of evidence, counsel are permitted to argue to the sentencing body for or against the death sentence.
It is apparent from the structure provided that this evidentiary hearing is intended to serve as part of the "truth-determining process" to enable the sentencer to discern and apply the facts bearing on the determination of the appropriate sentence. Implicit in the fact that the statute assigns to the defendant the burden of proving mitigating circumstances by a preponderance of evidence is the understanding that the jury is to assess the evidence for credibility. It must be left open for the Commonwealth to challenge the veracity of facts asserted and the credibility of the person asserting those facts, whether that person is a witness or the defendant.
Commonwealth v. Abu-Jamal, 555 A.2d 846, 857-858 (Pa. 1989), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 881 (1990). At the penalty hearing, Appellant presented the testimony of Dr. Ganime, who stated, among other things, that Appellant "had difficulties with peer relationships, difficulties in school, difficulties in working." N.T. 10/9/96 at 32. The doctor attributed these problems to the psychologically unstable nature of Appellant's mother who repeatedly attempted to institutionalize Appellant until his father obtained custody, after which Appellant had only limited contact with his mother. On cross-examination, the prosecutor asked Dr. Ganime whether his relationship with his mother would have made him hate women. The doctor responded that he did "not think that Walter expressed any strong feelings like that. He talked more about [that] he didn't trust women, he was afraid that if he married, he would marry a woman like his mother, and that he would go through the same troubles his father went through." Id. at 40. Then the prosecutor asked whether Appellant had ever dated. Dr. Ganime responded affirmatively and stated that he "had some relationships with women." Id. Appellant was not prejudiced by this testimony, which was a fair comment on the evidence presented on direct examination.
The prosecutor also asked Appellant whether he had dated and Appellant responded that he had. Id. at 69. This question was a reasonable follow-up on the testimony of Appellant and his psychiatrist that Appellant had difficulties in peer relationships and in no way did it prejudice Appellant for the jury to hear that he had dated women. Similarly, there was no error when the prosecutor asked Appellant whether or not Appellant got along with people in his neighborhood; how the Green family came to live in his house; and whether or not Appellant's father gave him his house. As to the question of whether or not Appellant
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