State v. Pickens (Slip Opinion), 141 Ohio St. 3d 462

Noelle Washington reported to police that Pickens raped her; later that day he killed Noelle and two young children in her Cincinnati apartment.
Surveillance videos show Noelle entering the apartment, a struggle in the hallway, and Pickens leaving; later videos place Pickens near the scene around the time of the murders.
Forensic evidence linked Pickens to the crimes: semen on Noelle’s vaginal swab matching Pickens, handgun ammunition and gunshot residue found at his apartment and on a jacket and bicycle, and three .45-caliber shell casings from the scene fired from the same gun.
Noelle’s statements to police and others about the rape and threats were admitted under Evid.R. 804(B)(6) as forfeiture-by-wrongdoing; the court conducted an evidentiary hearing before admission.
A jury convicted Pickens of three counts of aggravated murder with multiple death specifications and recommended the death penalty; the trial court imposed death sentences on all three counts.
In sentencing, Pickens’s age (19 at the time) and limited criminal history were weighed against aggravating factors, with the court ultimately upholding a death sentence as proportionate.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Batson challenges to juror exclusions	State exercised peremptory strikes based on race.	Strikes of Hemphill, Hutchinson, and Bell were racially motivated.	Batson claims rejected; race-neutral explanations found plausible and non-pretextual.
Voir dire on defendant’s youth as mitigation	Prosecutor improperly mentioned youth as mitigating factor.	No error; court allowed discussion and gave curative instructions.	No reversible error; trial court did not err in voir dire handling.
Admissibility of Noelle’s statements under Evid.R. 804(B)(6)	Noelle’s out-of-court statements should be excluded as hearsay.	forfeiture-by-wrongdoing bar permits admission; statements reliable enough.	Admissible; court conducted evidentiary hearing and found forfeiture-by-wrongdoing proved by preponderance.
Sufficiency of evidence for R.C. 2929.04(A)(3) (escape from rape)	Evidence including Noelle’s statements, surveillance, and DNA supports the specification.	Some reliance on hearsay; challenge to sufficiency of the spec.	Sufficient evidence; even without Noelle’s statements, other evidence supported the spec; admission was harmless beyond reasonable doubt.
Prosecutorial misconduct during opening/closing	Prosecutor misstated evidence and vouched for witnesses in rebuttal.	Objections waived; if improper, not prejudicial given overwhelming guilt.	No reversible error; cumulative context and curative instructions undermined any potential prejudice.

State v. Were, 118 Ohio St.3d 448 (2008-Ohio-2762) (Batson standard and evaluation of race-neutral explanations)
State v. Mundt, 115 Ohio St.3d 22 (2007-Ohio-4386) (Voir dire on mitigating factors is discretionary; not required to question on each mitigation factor)
State v. Cunningham, 105 Ohio St.3d 197 (2004-Ohio-7007) (Trial court's discretion in voir dire and mitigation examinations)
State v. Were, 118 Ohio St.3d 448 (2008-Ohio-2762) (Batson standard and assessment of challenges in context)
State v. Diar, 120 Ohio St.3d 460 (2008-Ohio-6266) (Prosecutor's latitude in closing arguments; fair comment standard)
State v. Gapen, 104 Ohio St.3d 358 (2004-Ohio-6548) (Appellate review of trial times and evidence in homicide cases)