Does a prosecutor commit misconduct by arguing that a defendant would be dangerous to fellow inmates and others with whom he came in contact if he was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole?

Defendant claims that the prosecutor committed misconduct by arguing that he would be dangerous to fellow inmates and others with whom he came in contact if he were given a sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole. Specifically, he argued that defendant demonstrated "sodomy urges," that he endangered other inmates and that his violent behavior would "jeopardize the health and safety of any guards, visitors, social workers, inmates or clergy who may come into contact with him." As we have stated: "It is settled that argument concerning a defendant's future dangerousness as a life prisoner is proper where it is based on evidence of past crimes admitted under one or more statutory factors in aggravation." (People v. Millwee (1998) 18 Cal.4th 96, 153, 74 Cal.Rptr.2d 418, 954 P.2d 990.) In this case, as reviewed above, there is ample evidence of defendant's violent past, including numerous assaults on prison and jail officials and the commission of sodomy. The prosecutor's argument regarding defendant's future dangerousness, based on this history of violence, was not misconduct.

4. Religious Sanction for the Death Penalty