United States v. Klemis, No. 15-2057 (7th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CaseKlemis sold heroin. One of his young customers overdosed on heroin in Klemis’s driveway and nearly died. McKinney, age 19, another regular customer and occasional driver for Klemis, fatally overdosed on heroin supplied by Klemis. Klemis was indicted for conspiracy to distribute heroin, distribution of heroin to persons under 21, using a minor in a drug operation, and heroin distribution resulting in death. During jury selection, Juror 28 said that her brother had wrestled with drug addiction but assured the court that she could be fair to both sides and was seated without objection. In closing argument the prosecutor referred at length to Dante’s Inferno and its depiction of the inhabitants of the nine circles of hell, assigning Klemis to the innermost circle reserved for the worst of the damned. The prosecutor also stated that “heroin kills” and described a witness as a “straight citizen,” “not an addict.” The jury convicted him; the judge imposed a 240-month prison term. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. The closing argument “crossed the line,” but was not prejudicial given the quantity and quality of the evidence against Klemis. The court rejected a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence relating to McKinney’s death, an argument about hearsay evidence, and a complaint about juror bias.
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