State v. Keenan

I

In his second proposition of law, Keenan complains of misconduct by the Assistant Prosecuting Attorney during the guilt-phase closing argument. This proposition has merit. “The conduct of a prosecuting attorney during trial cannot be made a ground of error unless the conduct deprives defendant of a fair trial.” State v. Apanovitch (1987), 33 Ohio St.3d 19, 24, 514 N.E.2d 394, 400. Thus, although we have “express[ed] our mounting alarm over the increasing incidence of misconduct * * * in capital cases,” we have not treated prosecutorial misconduct as reversible error “except in rare…