California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Wade, 233 Cal.Rptr. 48, 43 Cal.3d 366, 729 P.2d 239 (Cal. 1987):
1 At closing argument, counsel stated: " 'It is extremely difficult for me to talk to you at this time. This is the first time that I have ever been in a position like this. I have been practicing law for three years now, Assistant Public Defender and I have never defended a murder case before. I think that you all understand that the job I had to do this week and you can appreciate what I had to do. [p] You can convict [the defendant] of a cruel and evil crime. There is no doubt about it. Murder upsets me very much and I am also human, I have feelings, I have been to Raiford which is the State Prison. [p] Now you might not think that [the defendant] deserves to live in our society of civilized people. You might not consider him right now as a human being and what you convicted him of was an evil and gross crime but I am not asking you to put him back out on the streets or take a chance that he will ever be back out there because in Florida the legislature passed a law which means that when you convicted a man of first degree murder, if you don't, if he is not sent to the electric chair, then he automatically goes to prison for life and for twenty years he is not eligible for parole. He is not eligible for parole. He will be in maximum security at Raiford, not a work release center.' " (King v. Strickland (11th Cir.1983) 714 F.2d 1481, 1491; 748 F.2d at p. 1463.)
As is evident, this argument contained far fewer egregious statements than the argument in this case.
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