Calloway v. State (210 So. 3d 1160, 2017)

PER CURIAM.

Tavares David Calloway was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Derwin Copeland, Frederick McGuire, Adolphus Melvin, Gary St. Charles, and Trenton Thomas, along with armed robbery, armed kidnapping, and armed burglary with an assault or battery. A jury recommended a sentence of death for each count of first-degree murder by a vote of seven to five. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

1997

On January 21, 1997, eighteen-year-old Anthony Strachan was at home in his family’s apartment on 580 Northwest 64th Street in Miami, cutting a friend’s hair. Strachan went into the kitchen and, through the kitchen window, saw one of his neighbors, “Shorty,” standing outside on 64th Street with two unknown men. One man, who wore a skull cap and a heavy brown coat that resembled a field or military jacket, was taller than Shorty. Stra-chan saw Shorty walk up the apartment stairs and past the jalousie kitchen door of his family’s apartment with one of the unfamiliar men. At some point later in the day, Strachan heard loud booming noises that he assumed were from a neighbor’s stereo. He opened the front door to see if anything outside might explain the noise, but saw nothing and closed the door.

Strachan later walked downstairs to retrieve something from his mother’s car. On his way back to the apartment, he heard the door of Apartment 8 open and saw the unfamiliar man exiting the apartment complex. He and Strachan nodded at each other as they passed. The unidentified man appeared to be older than Strachan and held a small box the size of a shoe or cigar box that Strachan recognized as one often carried by Shorty. The brown coat he wore struck Strachan as unusually heavy for the weather in Miami.

Elsewhere that day, Latonya Taylor was concerned about her fiancé, Adolphus “Tank” Melvin. He was supposed to pick up their two-year-old son from day care, but the day care center called her and informed her that Melvin never arrived. She attempted to contact him via his beeper and cell phone, but he did not respond. She called her friend, Gwendolyn James, to ask if she had been in contact with Melvin or his friend Trenton Thomas, James’s fiancé. James paged Thomas, who also did not respond.

Taylor drove to an apartment in Liberty City that was the residence of Gary “Shorty” St. Charles, where she had previously dropped Melvin off. She saw Melvin’s car in the parking lot, heard loud music playing from one of the upstairs apartments, and assumed that it emanated from St. Charles’s apartment. When she opened the door to Apartment 8, she found a grisly scene, ran with her son to the nearby home of Melvin’s sister, and called the police.

When the police arrived, they found the bodies of Melvin, Thomas, St. Charles, and Derwin Copeland. Frederick McGuire was still alive, and paramedics transported him to the hospital for treatment, where he died the next day. All five men had been shot once in the head, execution style. Their ankles had been bound with duct tape, and their hands and wrists were bound behind their backs with duct tape. Duct tape also covered their eyes and mouths. The men were clad only in underwear and undershirts; their clothing and shoes were piled in a corner of the living room. Styrofoam containers filled with half-eaten food were found on the dining room table. Officers noticed that the music on the stereo was very loud, even over the noise of nearby 1-95.

The initial investigation of the apartment and surrounding areas lasted for nearly twenty hours. The apartment appeared to have been ransacked before the officers arrived. Although crime scene investigators collected blood samples, they did not specifically search for DNA because DNA collection was not the standard practice of the City of Miami Police Department in 1997. Eighty-nine latent fingerprint cards were lifted from around the apartment, although most of the prints were later found to have matched the victims. All of the pieces of duct tape that were recovered from the apartment were commingled in one plastic bag, but the pieces were later separated. One empty roll of duct tape was found on the floor near the piles of clothing. Investigators also recovered five spent .45 caliber shell casings.

The medical examiner estimated that the time of death for Melvin, Thomas, Copeland, and St. Charles was between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Their wounds were consistent with a .45 caliber firearm, which resulted in an immediate loss of consciousness and death. McGuire was similarly instantly incapacitated, although he did not die until the following day. Additionally, Thomas’s head wound featured stippling, which indicated that he was shot at close range. None of the men exhibited defensive wounds.

Although investigators found no significant quantity of drugs in the apartment, they did find marijuana residue and drug paraphernalia. Additionally, a small bag of marijuana was found in the clothing of Melvin. Investigators also recovered cash from under a waterbed mattress and a gold medallion under the body of Melvin, but there was no jewelry or marijuana found on any of the other victims. They concluded that Melvin was the leader of a small group involved in marijuana packaging and distribution. St. Charles, who resided in the apartment, served as his “second-in-command,” and Thomas and McGuire oversaw the packaging of the marijuana. Copeland was not believed to have been formally involved in the group’s activities, but he had recently been in a car accident and was dependent on Melvin, his uncle, for transportation. Despite several months of investigation by the City of Miami Police Department, the case went cold.

1998

On May 11,1998, Detective George Law received a phone call from a woman who did not identify herself. Law had investigated the murder of Michael Gosha, whose family and friends had informed Law that Gosha was last seen alive with a man identified as “Black.” The woman advised Law that “Black” was Tavares Calloway, who knew Gosha and was involved in the quintuple murders from 1997, along with “Tote.”

On May 12, 1998, Detective Kelvin Knowles brought Antonio “Tote” Clark to the police station. Clark signed a Miranda waiver, and eventually told the police that he and Calloway had gone to St. Charles’s apartment to commit a robbery at the direction of Dwight Campbell, who was also known as Frank. Clark said he was unarmed and did not expect anyone to die. Calloway had instructed the victims to remove their clothing to be sure they were not armed and told Clark to bind them with duct tape. Calloway shot the men, and he and Clark left the scene.

Based on Clark’s statement, Detective Knowles was dispatched to pick up Callo-way, who had a bench warrant for driving with a suspended license. Knowles was unable to make contact with Calloway initially, but he left a card indicating that Calloway should call him. When Calloway called, Knowles informed him of the bench warrant and indicated that detectives needed to speak with him about other matters. Calloway agreed to come to the station and asked Knowles for transportation. He was nineteen years old.

Calloway arrived at the station around 3:00 p.m. on May 13 and was directed to an interview room with a two-way mirror. He was not handcuffed, and officers elected not to record the interview. Detectives Law and Alberto Borges began to question him, and Calloway signed a Miranda waiver at 3:31 p.m. Law asked Calloway if he wanted water, which Calloway declined, explaining that he was fasting that day because he was a born-again Christian. Calloway appeared relaxed and calm. Although Calloway was nineteen years old, Law thought he looked older and seemed mature for his age.

Law initially questioned him about the Gosha homicide, and Calloway admitted that he and Gosha planned and participated in the home invasion robbery of Shellie Wilson (“Twin”), and that Calloway suspected Gosha was murdered in retaliation for that robbery. Borges then asked him about the quintuple homicides, but Callo-way denied involvement and repeatedly told them to “find the facts.” When Borges showed Calloway photographs of the victims taken from the apartment, Calloway did not respond, other than to repeat, “find the facts.” Around 5:00 p.m., Law and Borges left Calloway alone in the interview room.

Detective Ervins Ford, who had viewed the questioning from the attached observation room, entered the interview room after 7:00 p.m. In an effort to build rapport, Ford asked Calloway about his background and upbringing. Calloway explained that his grandmother had raised him and imposed regular church attendance and nightly Bible study in the household. Ford retrieved a Bible from one of the desks in the homicide office and returned to the interview room. Calloway became noticeably more comfortable and confident with Ford as Calloway began to recite passages from the Bible. Calloway referenced many passages that concerned God’s vengeance and seemed to identify with the Archangel Gabriel, whom Callo-way described as God’s punisher. When Ford asked him whether the victims had been punished by their deaths, Calloway replied that they should have seen it coming because they had been selling drugs for a long time and “were doing a lot of dirt.” After watching Calloway from the observation room, Detective Tony Davis entered, told Calloway that the Bible states “thou shall not kill,” and walked out of the room with the Bible. Ford exited the room as well.

Over the course of the evening, several officers asked Calloway if he needed anything, offers which he declined. At approximately 8:00 p,m., Detective Knowles returned to the interview room and listened as Calloway told him that the victims were bad people, drug dealers, and they worked for the devil. Around 11:00 p.m., Detective Juan Gonzalez entered and falsely informed Calloway that his fingerprints were found in Apartment 8 in 1997. Calloway responded that perhaps he had been to a hardware store and touched a door. When Gonzalez pressed him as to how a door with his fingerprints on it ended up in Apartment 8, Calloway became defensive and told Gonzalez to do his job and leave the room, which he did.

Law returned to the interview room at approximately 1:00 a.m. on March 14, along with Detective George Pereira from the Miami-Dade County Police Department to discuss the Twin home invasion robbery, which Pereira had investigated. They did not discuss the quintuple homicides with Calloway at that time. Calloway denied Pereira’s request to record the interview. Pereira reminded Calloway of his Miranda rights, and Calloway repeated that he did not want a lawyer and did not indicate that he wished to end the questioning.

Gonzalez returned between 2:30 a.m. and 3:00 a.m., and Calloway provided some biographical information, including that three months before the murders, he had lived next door to Campbell, whom Callo-way did not know well. Gonzalez told Cal-loway that his fingerprints were found on duct tape that was used to restrain the victims, which Gonzalez knew to be false. Calloway responded evasively that he used duct tape for many reasons, but did not know how duct tape with his fingerprints came to be in Apartment 8. When asked if he knew any of the victims, Calloway said that he knew Melvin as an unpopular snitch. Although Borges noticed a shift in Calloway’s demeanor at this point, he directed the interview to stop, given the late hour. Several officers slept at their desks, and Calloway was left alone in the interview room to sleep.

Around 8:00 a.m. on May 14, Law checked on Calloway and found him asleep in the interview room. After Calloway was awakened by Law, Calloway asked to call his girlfriend, Diane Odom. Law directed him to a telephone and observed the phone call, but did not listen to the conversation. He saw Calloway’s demeanor change and decided to resume questioning when they returned to the interview room. At some point that morning, one of the officers brought Calloway breakfast, which he eventually ate.

Law began by telling Calloway that he could tell Calloway loved his girlfriend. Law and Detective Willie Everett then began to confront Calloway with inculpato-ry evidence. Law told Calloway that they knew he was at the crime scene because his fingerprints were found on the door and on duct tape recovered from the scene. Everett also told Calloway that they had information that he wore camouflage clothing and sunglasses that day. Everett also told Calloway that if he was a good Christian, God would want him to confess. The detectives saw him tear up, put a hand on his shoulder, and told him it would be ok. Calloway said that if they would give him a minute, he would tell them everything.

Around 9:00 a.m. on May 14, Calloway told them that three days before the murders in January 1997, he had gone to Liberty Market to purchase camouflage clothing and sunglasses in preparation for a “lick,” meaning a robbery. On January 21, 1997, Michael Gosha came to him and said it was time to do the lick. They went to Campbell’s home first, and then Callo-way and Clark went to St. Charles’s residence on 580 Northwest 64th Street. Callo-way wore an Army hat and camouflage clothing.

When they arrived, they saw St. Charles exit a car. Calloway used a .45 caliber gun to place St. Charles in a chokehold and force their way into Apartment 8, where they found Melvin and three other men eating from Styrofoam containers. Callo-way demanded to know where the drugs were and ordered everyone to get on the floor and remove their clothing and jewelry. Calloway told Clark to find something to restrain the men, and when Clark turned up empty-handed, he sent Clark to purchase tape. Clark returned with duct tape, and they began to tape everyone. When they ran out of duct tape, Calloway directed Clark to purchase more. Calloway placed tape across the eyes of the victims, “because they were looking” at him.

At a loss for what to do next, Calloway sent Clark to Campbell for further instructions. Clark returned and told him that Campbell said to kill two of the men. Calloway responded that killing only two of them would create problems because they could identify Calloway and would retaliate. Clark returned to Campbell’s apartment and reported to Calloway that Campbell said to kill everyone. Calloway increased the volume of the stereo to muffle the sounds of gunshots. He shot each of the victims in the head once. Calloway and Clark took two pounds of marijuana, jewelry, cell phones, beepers, and cash; wiped down any fingerprints they might have left; and fled to Campbell’s house. They informed him they had completed the lick and went to the home of another friend. A short time later, Calloway disposed of the gun and provided the stolen jewelry to a relative of Gosha’s to pawn.

Law asked Calloway if they could have a stenographer record a formal, sworn statement, and Calloway agreed. Additional details were included in the statement, including that before they settled on Melvin as the target of the lick, Calloway and Campbell discussed other potential targets. Calloway also indicated that Atwon “Twon” Davis waited for Clark and him in the parking lot while they were in the apartment before driving them to a friend’s house. Gosha, Clark, and Callo-way distributed the items taken from the apartment among themselves before they parted ways. Calloway later burned his clothing.

Law arranged for Diane Odom to come to the police station. When she arrived, Law and Everett left Odom and Calloway alone and unmonitored in the interrogation room. He was crying and told her he had to come clean and get right with God. Sergeant Cooper later saw Calloway in the homicide office, and he told her that if he had not confessed, they would never have been able to prove his involvement.

Around 1:00 p.m., Calloway agreed to show Law and Everett the area where he disposed of the gun. Calloway, who was not handcuffed because the officers thought he was cooperative, Odom, Everett, and Law drove in a van first to Liberty Market, where Calloway told the detectives he had purchased clothing for the lick. They then drove to the area where Calloway claimed to have disposed of the gun, which was a litter-strewn field. Despite a brief search, the gun was not found.

The officers then proceeded to the home of one of Calloway’s relatives, where he spoke to and hugged his family members. The officers left Odom with Calloway’s relatives and eventually returned with Cal-loway to the police station. Upon their return, Calloway reviewed and signed his transcribed statement, twenty-six hours after he first entered the police station. Ultimately, eleven police officers questioned Calloway over the course of approximately eighteen hours, during which time he was not handcuffed.

On May 26, 1998, a grand jury indicted Calloway and Clark on eight counts: five counts of first-degree murder, one count of armed robbery, one count of armed kidnapping, and one count of armed burglary with an assault or battery. The joint indictment was eventually severed.

Discovery

In 2008, Detective Borges first learned that Strachan may have witnessed some of the events that day. At that point, it was revealed that Sergeant Cooper, the author of the note that was slipped under the door during Calloway’s confession, had received information from one of her friends, Val Williams. Williams, the mother of Strachan and who worked in the property department of the City of Miami Police Department, approached Cooper sometime in 1997 and provided Cooper with information that provided the basis for several questions on the note. However, Williams asked Cooper not to share the information because Williams did not want her son to be involved in the investigation. At the time, Cooper did not think the information was sufficient to identify any particular suspect and incorrectly believed Strachan to be a minor, so she honored Williams’s request. Cooper did not reveal the source of her information until 2008, when the note was brought to her attention again. When Borges learned that Strachan may have had information regarding the homicides, he and another officer flew to Arizona, where he then lived, to interview him.

In October 2008, the trial court held a suppression hearing regarding Calloway’s confession that lasted several days and was continued until March 2009. At the conclusion of the hearing, the State and Calloway contested whether a Frye hearing was necessary to determine whether Dr. Richard Ofshe, an expert witness in the field of false confessions, could testify for the defense. The trial court ruled that both Dr. Ofshe and Dr. Michael Weiner, a rebuttal witness for the State, could testify, but only after Calloway himself testified that his confession was false. However, Calloway did not testify during the suppression hearing; therefore, neither doctor testified at that time.

Guilt Phase

During trial, the State presented testimony from each of the officers who participated in the interrogation. In anticipation of Calloway’s defense that his confession was false and “fed” to him by officers, the State presented evidence during its casein-chief to counter that defense. Every officer who testified denied that anyone had threatened, coerced, or promised Calloway anything to obtain a confession. Additionally, each officer testified that Calloway did not request an attorney or otherwise invoke his Miranda rights.

Detective Borges testified that some of the contemporaneous media coverage of the murders did not accurately portray certain details. He explained that he was familiar with many of the details from the January 1997 investigation that he did not disclose to Everett or Law before they obtained the confession. He also offered testimony that Calloway himself provided certain details that were unknown to officers in May 1998, but were later confirmed by Strachan, such as the fact that Callo-way first encountered St. Charles downstairs. Further, Borges testified that Clark’s fingerprints were found on the sticky side of certain pieces of duct tape, which confirmed both Clark’s and Callo-way’s accounts that Clark taped the victims.

Law denied that he or Everett “fed” Calloway specific details when they questioned him, or that they rehearsed anything with him before his statement was recorded. Law flatly denied that he “tricked [Calloway] into thinking he was a police agent” who would assist the detectives with the apprehension of the “real” murderers. Law also testified that that he did not recognize the note written by Cooper, nor did he remember it from their interrogation of Calloway.

Fabrice Nelson, the lead crime scene investigator in January 1997, testified with respect to evidence recovered from the apartment. Guillermo Martin, a latent fingerprint examiner, testified that latent prints lifted from the freezer door and the sticky side of duct tape pieces recovered from Apartment 8 matched those of Clark. Martin admitted that of the sixty-four latent fingerprint cards of value recovered, thirty-four cards remained unidentified, and none matched the known prints of Calloway. Over objections from the defense, the State also presented the testimony of medical examiner Dr. Bruce Hyma, in the place of Dr. Charles Siebert, the original medical examiner.

Latonya Taylor testified that she recognized her fiancé, Adolphus Melvin, by the underwear that he wore when he was killed, which she had purchased for him. She also described the jewelry that he usually wore, which, along with his wallet, cell phone, and beeper, she never saw after he left for the day on January 21, 1997. Gwendolyn James, the fiancé of Trenton Thomas, also testified that Thomas’s pager was never found after that day. Adolphus Thornton, who knew Calloway as “Black” and was a friend of his nephew, Michael Gosha, testified that Calloway approached him in January 1997 to pawn a distinctive gold bracelet. A few days later, Thornton learned that Melvin had been murdered and recognized the bracelet as belonging to him.

Strachan testified that in January 1997, he assumed the booming noises were music played from loud speakers; however, he had since served in the Marines and thought he recognized the noises to be the sounds of gunshots, although he could not definitely categorize the noises. After he informed his mother of what he had observed, his mother moved their family out of the apartment that very day and they did not return. After he testified that the person he saw in January 1997 seemed to be several years older than himself, he admitted that he was unable to identify Calloway in a photographic array during a police interview in 2008 or during trial in 2009.

The State also presented testimony from Diane Odom, Calloway’s girlfriend at the time of his arrest. She testified that she saw Calloway after he confessed and drove with Calloway and the officers to search for the gun. On direct examination, she testified that Calloway did not tell her that her life was in danger when officers dropped her off with members of Callo-way’s family that day.

After the State rested, defense counsel proceeded on a theory that Calloway’s confession was false and induced as part of a plan with the police to lure the real murderers from hiding. In support of this theory, defense counsel presented testimony from Calloway and Dr. Ofshe, a sociologist who testified as an expert on factors that can cause a false confession.

Calloway’s testimony conflicted with that of various police witnesses. For example, he testified that when he signed the Miranda paperwork upon his arrival at the police station, no one explained that he was under arrest or reviewed the protections of the Miranda rights. He also asserted that he requested an attorney several times from several different officers, and at one point, Borges retorted that “the devil in a suit” could not save him and he would “fry for this.” He also claimed that Ford, rather than himself, stated that the victims were bad people who worked for the devil. Further, he testified that several officers provided him with nonpublie details about the murders, including that a robbery also occurred; the apartment was a marijuana packaging center; the victims were killed execution style; the stereo volume was high; and the weapon used was a .45 caliber gun.

After being left alone in the interview room, Calloway testified that Law returned at some point in the late night or early morning with a “glazed, crazy” look. Law said he had been speaking with the deceased Gosha, who told Law who had killed him. Calloway thought Law might have experienced a religious vision and replied that if Law had really spoken to Gosha, Gosha would have told him that Calloway was a good person who was not involved in the murders of either Gosha or the five men in 1997. Law returned sometime later, looking calmer, and explained that the men who killed Gosha intended to target Calloway next. Law implied that Calloway and his family were under surveillance. However, Law said it would help Calloway if he made a false statement and to think about his family before declining this opportunity to help them. After speaking with Odom, Calloway agreed to provide a false confession to protect his family. He testified that' he was under the impression that he would spend three months in jail so that the police could apprehend the real murderers. The State extensively impeached Calloway with an earlier interview between Dr. Ofshe- and Calloway. Calloway defended inconsistent or incoherent statements by reference to his age at the time of the arrest (19), naivety, ignorance, use of slang, and lack of education.

Dr. Ofshe offered testimony regarding the manner in which a police interview may become a coercive interrogation that results in a confession. He explained that Calloway’s account indicated the presence of many sources of “contamination,” meaning that Calloway was potentially aware of evidence from either media accounts or the officers themselves. Dr. Ofshe offered his opinion that “[t]he quality of the interroga^ tion was extremely poor throughout”; however, the trial court precluded him from further testifying whether it was his opinion that the confession was false. The court also ruled that Dr. Ofshe could not compare statements in Cooper’s note and Strachan’s testimony to Calloway’s confession.

The State impeached Dr. Ofshe with inconsistencies in the notes that Calloway provided to him before their interview. For example, when Dr. Ofshe interviewed Cal-loway in 2001, Dr. Ofshe told Calloway that it did not make sense that Calloway told the police he had fabricated the story about sending Clark to purchase duct tape, when Clark had recounted the same detail the day before Calloway was arrested. Dr. Ofshe admitted that he disregarded many of the details that Calloway recounted as too confusing until he learned about Cooper’s note and the substance of Strachan’s testimony.

Defense counsel also presented testimony from Rupert Butcher, a latent fingerprint examiner from the City of Miami Police Department. He testified that the duct tape collected from Apartment 8 was commingled and seized improperly.

During rebuttal, the State presented testimony from several witnesses who disputed Calloway’s testimony. Law explained that he was only minimally involved with the 1997 quintuple homicides prior to Cal-loway’s arrest and therefore could not have provided him with details about the homicides. Law and Borges denied that Borges told Calloway that he “would fry” for this and that a lawyer, “a devil in a suit,” could not help him, or that they denied him an attorney upon his request. Law denied that he approached Calloway early on the morning of May 14 and told Calloway that he had spoken to Gosha in a dream, or that he arranged a deal with Calloway. The State also presented detectives from the Miami-Dade County Police Department who had investigated the Twin robbery. Calloway testified that he was a victim of that robbery; however, Detective Pereira countered that Calloway admitted his involvement with that robbery.

Dr. Michael Weiner, a psychiatrist, agreed that false confessions do occur, but emphasized that they are a rare phenomenon. He also explained that research has demonstrated that false confessions tend to be made more often by individuals who are compliant or suggestible, particularly those who suffer from mental illness or qualify as intellectually disabled. Dr. Wei-ner stated that he had no evidence to indicate that Calloway was particularly compliant or suggestible, suffered from mental illness, or was actively psychotic at the time of his arrest and confession.

After a trial that lasted over two months, the jury returned a guilty verdict on all counts on July 30,2009.

Penalty Phase

During the penalty phase, the State presented victim impact testimony from Dorothy White, the mother of Trenton Thomas; Katherine Lowe, the sister of Frederick McGuire; Carolyn Raphael, the sister of Gary St. Charles; Errol Kelly, the nephew of Adolphus Melvin; and Gloria Copeland, the mother of Derwin Copeland. The State then rested.

Diane Odom, Calloway’s girlfriend at the time of his arrest, testified that Calloway helped her with her children during their relationship. He picked them up from school, taught them how to play football and ride bikes, and spent three to five days a week with them. Eugene Anderson, a relative to Calloway by marriage, explained that he occasionally hired Calloway to assist him with his carpet installation business and that Calloway gave his earnings to Eugene’s wife, Shante, for their children.

Joan King and Juanita Perry testified that before his arrest, Calloway regularly attended church. In addition to attending services three times a week, he participated in youth activities, helped clean the church, and served as an usher.

Eugene Hill, Calloway’s step-grandfather, provided testimony about Calloway’s impoverished childhood. His stepdaughter and Calloway’s mother, Shirley Hill, moved to Miami to live with him and his wife, Hester Hill. Eugene tried to provide for Calloway and his brother, Reginald, and to discipline them, but he was eventually injured and was unable to continue to support Shirley and her family.

Shante Anderson, Calloway’s second cousin, testified regarding Calloway’s difficult childhood. When Calloway’s mother moved her children to Liberty City, they lived in a crowded two-bedroom apartment with Eugene and Hester Hill, Cherry Hill, and Cherry’s two children. Eugene was strict and threatened to discipline the children with his belt. After Shirley moved out of the apartment when Calloway was approximately thirteen years old, she, Callo-way, and Reginald were evicted at least twice from various apartments around Liberty City. It was rare that Shirley kept more than milk and cereal to feed Callo-way and Reginald. Calloway would visit his grandparents’ home, where Hester would feed him without Eugene’s knowledge or permission.

Reginald Calloway further testified to the hardships he and his brother endured. He stated that Eugene frequently beat Calloway with a belt during the time they lived with him and their mother was largely absent during this time. Despite the difficulties, Calloway encouraged his brother to stay in school and served as a surrogate father figure.

Calloway’s mother, Shirley, explained that she was often abused by Solomon Calloway, the father of Calloway and Reginald, and that he once attempted to drown her in a bathtub. When Calloway was one or two years old, she moved her children to a small, one-bedroom trailer in Georgia. Despite the move, Solomon visited the trailer and beat Shirley with a switch nearly every day. Solomon would also beat Calloway with the switch. She recounted one incident when she and Solomon were fighting and Calloway, then a toddler, handed her a bat to use in self-defense. The abuse continued until she moved to Miami to live with her mother and stepfather, when Calloway was five or six years old.

After she moved out of their home and into a one-bedroom apartment with her sons, she spent her income on drugs, rather than rent, electricity, groceries, or other basic needs for her children. When Callo-way was approximately fourteen, she moved the family again, this time to the Scott Projects, which she described as a “war zone” where drugs were openly sold and fights occurred regularly. Her drug abuse intensified, and she testified that at that point in her life, nothing but crack cocaine mattered to her, not even her children. Instead of using food stamps to feed her children, she traded the food stamps for drugs.

On February 3, 2010, the jury recommended the death penalty for all five murders, each by a vote of seven to five. On April 13, 2010, the court held a Spencer hearing. Dr. Jethro Toomer, a clinical psychologist, testified for the defense. Dr. Toomer explained that the instability, poverty, and parental abandonment that Cal-loway experienced throughout his life affected his cognitive processing, impulse control, and ability to engage in personal relationships. However, Dr. Toomer admitted that Calloway’s participation in planning the robbery and murders demonstrated that he was capable of controlling his impulses.

The trial court issued its sentencing order on October 1, 2010. The court concluded that the State had established beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of six aggravating circumstances: prior conviction of a capital felony, § 921.141(5)(b), Fla. Stat. (1997) (great weight); capital felony committed in the course of a kidnapping, § 921.141(5)(d) (great weight); capital felony committed for the purpose of avoiding arrest, § 921.141(5)(e) (great weight); capital felony committed for pecuniary gain, § 921.141(5)(f) (great weight); capital felony was heinous, atrocious, or cruel (HAC), § 921.141(5)(h) (exceptionally great weight); and capital felony was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner (CCP), § 921.141(B)(i) (extremely great weight).

The court found one statutory mitigating circumstance, Calloway’s age at the time of the murders, section 921.141(6)(g), Florida Statutes, and gave it some weight. The court also acknowledged the existence of the following nonstatutory mitigating circumstances: Calloway had an unstable and impoverished background (slight weight); he was often abandoned by his mother, who was a crack addict (some weight); as a very young child, he witnessed his father physically abuse his mother (slight weight); he demonstrated poor performance in school, has a low-normal IQ, and dropped out of school (minimal weight); he grew up in the Scott Projects, a rough neighborhood rife with narcotics and violence (slight weight); he suffered emotional deprivation at the hands of his caregivers, his mother and step-grandfather (little weight); he was exposed to chronic violence throughout his life (little weight); he was deprived of a nurturing mother (little weight); he grew up in abject poverty (slight weight); he was born into a dysfunctional family (minimal weight); he became normalized to violence (little weight); he lacked guidance and a father-son relationship (slight weight); he lacked a role model (no weight); he faced unstable living conditions throughout his life (little weight); he was active in his church and exhibited genuine religious beliefs (no weight); his aunt and grandmother passed away while he was in jail, and he was upset because he was unable to attend their funerals (no weight); he did not flee from the police (no weight); his mother still loves him (no weight); he was a good father figure to the children of his former girlfriend, Diane Odom (some weight); he encouraged his cousins to do well (minimal weight); he is considerate, generous, and concerned about his family (some weight); he will die in prison regardless of what sentence he receives (no weight); the police would not have solved the crimes if he had not confessed (some weight); Clark, his codefendant, was sentenced to life imprisonment (no weight); he did not receive recommended psychological counseling (some weight); he was employed at the time of his arrest (slight weight); and he used poor judgment and engaged in impulsive behavior (minimal weight).

The court concluded that the aggravating circumstances, particularly HAC and CCP, far outweighed the mitigating circumstances. The trial court sentenced Calloway to death for the murders, and imposed life sentences for the armed robbery, armed kidnapping, and armed burglary with an assault or battery convictions. This appeal follows.

DISCUSSION

Voir Dire

The first error that Calloway alleges is that the trial court improperly limited the scope of voir dire. Specifically, defense counsel sought to ask potential jurors whether they would consider a life recommendation when faced with five murder victims and the anticipated multiple aggravating circumstances. During a hearing on this issue, the defense argued that they would be unable to explore juror bias and intelligently exercise preemptory strikes without these questions. The State generally agreed that the defense should be permitted to ask whether jurors would commit to weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances. However, the State contended that defense counsel should not be permitted to attempt to commit the jurors to a predetermination by asking if jurors could still consider life after hearing about multiple certain aggravating circumstances, which would convert voir dire into a pretrial of the case.

The trial court explained that prospective jurors had been asked whether they could commit to fairly weighing aggravating and mitigating circumstances before making their recommendation. When defense counsel responded, “The problem is, they don’t know what the aggravators are yet,” the court answered, “That’s the way it is,” and reminded defense counsel that the jurors are given similar instructions before deliberation. Defense counsel replied:

I don’t want to find out their attitude towards applying that instruction at the end of the case. It’s too late for me to have explored whether they would be overwhelmed by [preconceived] notions of bias against [heinous], atrocious, and cruel.

A case where someone tortured someone[,] tied them up and subjected] them to pain, no, I can’t give them life. I need to know that at the beginning because they don’t know what the aggravators are going to be, either the law or the potential factual scenario. And if they would be overwhelmed that they can’t apply the law or they have a bias such that I would use a pre-emptory, I need to know about it in jury selection.

The court stated that defense counsel had failed to present any authority to support that position, and the jury should not be requested to engage in pretrial determinations. It ultimately concluded that the parties could probe the venire about potential bias regarding the number of victims and the potential for financial gain, given that the indictment included the armed robbery charge.

This Court will not disturb a ruling of a trial court regarding the scope of voir dire absent a finding of an abuse of discretion. E.g., Chamberlain v. State, 881 So.2d 1087, 1095 (Fla. 2004). This standard is only met if no reasonable person would arrive at the same conclusion as that of the trial court. Trease v. State, 768 So.2d 1050, 1053 n.2 (Fla. 2000) (citing Huff v. State, 569 So.2d 1247, 1249 (Fla. 1990)). This Court has previously found no abuse of discretion in the exclusion of questions pertaining to potential jurors’ familiarity with stories about prisoners who had been released from death row, or their views regarding mitigation. Darling v. State, 808 So.2d 145, 160 (Fla. 2002); Vining v. State, 637 So.2d 921, 926-27 (Fla. 1994); see also Hoskins v. State, 965 So.2d 1, 13 (Fla. 2007) (finding no abuse of discretion in excluding the use of autopsy photographs during voir dire). However, we have held that an abuse of discretion occurred when a trial court prevented defense counsel from questioning prospective jurors about whether they would accept voluntary intoxication as a defense in a case that required specific intent to be established. Lavado v. State, 492 So.2d 1322, 1323 (Fla. 1986); see also Johnson v. State, 590 So.2d 1110, 1110 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991) (trial court abused its discretion in excluding questions about defendant’s status as a convicted felon to probe for potential bias).

It is a well-settled principle in Florida that parties may not question potential jurors during voir dire about evidence that is expected to be presented during trial and request an initial decision from prospective jurors as to how they will rule in the case. Hoskins, 965 So.2d at 13 (“The purpose of von- dire is to obtain a fair and impartial jury, whose minds are free of all interest, bias, or prejudice, not to shock potential jurors or to obtain a preview of their opinions of the evidence.” (citations omitted)); Franqui v. State, 699 So.2d 1312, 1322 n.5 (Fla. 1997) (citing Vining, 637 So.2d at 921; Dicks v. State, 83 Fla. 717, 93 So. 137, 138 (1922)). “Such a procedure would revolutionize jury trials.” Dicks, 93 So. at 137.

We distinguish this ease from Lavado, which involved whether the jury could accept the theory of the defense. In Barnhill v. State, 834 So.2d 836, 846 (Fla. 2002), this Court explained how such a question was critical to the defendant’s right to a fan- trial:

If counsel knows nothing more of the jurors, the single thing defense counsel must ascertain is whether the prospective jurors can fairly and impartially consider the defense offered by the defendant. See Lavado v. State, 492 So.2d 1322 (Fla. 1986). A trial judge abuses his or her discretion if he or she precludes counsel from asking specific questions about bias or prejudice against the defendant or the defense theory, even if the judge permits the general question as to whether the prospective juror can follow the law. Id.

(Emphasis supplied); see also Johnson, 590 So.2d at 1110. Unlike the circumstances in Lavado or Johnson, the questions here pertained to obtaining a pretrial decision on anticipated aggravating circumstances that could only be explained through a discussion of the underlying facts, rather than an aspect of Calloway or his theory of the case. Therefore, neither Lavado nor Johnson provides support for Calloway’s proposition that the trial court abused its discretion.

Here, defense counsel sought to precom-mit jurors to a recommendation of a life sentence based on expected evidence. Cal-loway asserts that the trial court’s exclusion of such questions was inconsistent with a subsequent ruling that permitted questions regarding the number of victims and the potential pecuniary gain aggravating circumstance. However, the court explained that the potential jurors were aware of the number of victims and that the murders had occurred during the course of a robbery because they had been informed of the crimes with which Callo-way had been charged. What they had not been informed of at that time were the particular facts of the crime—namely, that the victims had been duct-taped, blindfolded, and gagged while they listened to Cal-loway and Clark debate whether to kill some or all of them. The trial court permitted defense counsel to ask hypothetical questions about jurors’ general views on aggravation; however, defense counsel could not ask them whether they would precommit to a life sentence in light of specific aggravating circumstances. Such questions would have pretried the case in voir dire. See Hoskins, 965 So.2d at 13; Franqui, 699 So.2d at 1322 n.5. Therefore, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it issued the one limitation.

Whether a Frye Hearing Was Necessary

On cross-appeal, the State claims that the trial court erred when it failed to conduct a Frye hearing before it allowed Dr. Ofshe to testify as an expert. The State contends that had a Frye hearing been held, Dr. Ofshe would not have been permitted to testify as an expert. During a pretrial suppression hearing in 2008, the State insisted that Dr. Ofshe be subject to a Frye hearing before he could testify. However, the trial court ruled that his testimony would not become relevant until Calloway testified that his confession was false. Calloway did not testify until trial in 2009, and the trial court ruled that a Frye hearing would not be held at that point, based on United States v. Hall, 93 F.3d 1337, 1342 (7th Cir. 1996), and Boyer v. State, 825 So.2d 418 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002).

Under the Frye standard, the proponent of the evidence sought to be admitted must prove to the trial court by a preponderance of the evidence that the scientific principles and methodology of the expert witness are generally accepted by the relevant scientific community. Marsh v. Valyou, 977 So.2d 543, 547 (Fla. 2007); Ramirez v. State, 810 So.2d 836, 844 (Fla. 2001). Frye hearings only apply to novel scientific methodologies; once the methodology has been established and recognized by the relevant scientific community, a Frye hearing becomes unnecessary. See, e.g., King v. State, 89 So.3d 209, 228-29 (Fla. 2012) (concluding that tool-mark identification did not require a Frye hearing). Frye determinations are legal rulings that are reviewed de novo. Brim v. State, 695 So.2d 268, 274 (Fla. 1997). Frye errors are subject to being reviewed for harmless error. Ramirez, 810 So.2d at 845 (citing Hadden v. State, 690 So.2d 573, 581 (Fla. 1997)). An error is harmless if there is no reasonable possibility that it affected the verdict. State v. DiGuilio, 491 So.2d 1129, 1135 (Fla. 1986).

In Flanagan v. State, 625 So.2d 827, 828 (Fla. 1993), this Court explained that not all expert testimony requires a Frye hearing:

[P]ure opinion testimony, such as an expert’s opinion that a defendant is incompetent, does not have to meet Frye, because this type of testimony is based upon the expert’s personal experience and training. While cloaked with the credibility of the expert, this testimony is analyzed by the jury as it analyzes any other personal opinion or factual testimony by a witness. Profile testimony, on the other hand, by its nature necessarily relies on some scientific principle or test, which implies an infallibility not found in pure opinion testimony. The jury will naturally assume that the scientific principles underlying the expert’s conclusion are valid. Accordingly, this type of testimony must meet the Frye test, designed to ensure that the jury will not be misled by experimental scientific methods which may ultimately prove to be unsound. See Stokes[ v. State, 548 So.2d 188], 193-194 [ (Fla. 1989) ] (“A courtroom is not a laboratory, and as such it is not the place to conduct scientific experiments. If the scientific community considers a procedure or process unreliable for its own purposes, then the procedure must be considered less reliable for courtroom use.”).

(Emphasis supplied.) We subsequently concluded that based upon the reasoning in Flanagan, a Frye hearing must be held before an expert could testify about the psychological effects of sexual abuse upon a child. Hadden, 690 So.2d at 579-80.

We have also previously considered whether Dr. Ofshe’s testimony requires a Frye hearing before it may be presented to a jury. In Williamson v. State, 994 So.2d 1000, 1007-08 (Fla. 2008), the prosecution theorized that the defendant threatened a key State witness, Charles Panoyan. In support of this theory, Dr. Ofshe testified for the State that the threats made by Williamson indicated a degree of control or influence over Panoyan. Id. at 1009. The following exchange occurred during trial:

Q. [The State] But did you have the opportunity to discern any kind of control or influence that had been exercised by Dana Williamson according to the attestation of Charles Panoyan, which degrees or kinds of control you recognized?

A. [Dr. Ofshe] Yes.

Well, in reviewing the history of Mr. Panoyan’s experience in connection with the invasion and death and the assaults at the Decker residence, and over the course of the investigation that followed, including his incarceration and ultimate decision to speak about what happened, the pattern that he displays is a pattern of someone who has, for one [sic] of a better word, been terrorized, and someone who is acting in response to a credible threat, not only to himself, but also, and to some degree, more importantly, to members of his family.

And that the manner in which he responds at various points indicates quite clearly that he has a great concern about something happening to his family ....

The point at which he chose to do certain things reflects the kind of threat and fear he was acting under, and the particular decisions that he made to me are completely consistent with what he says about the sort of threats that he was exposed to.

Id. (emphasis supplied). The postconviction court summarily denied Williamson’s claim that trial counsel was ineffective for failure to request a Frye hearing before Dr. Ofshe testified. Id. However, on appeal we explained that the court should have determined whether Dr. Ofshe’s testimony regarding the effect of the defendant’s coercion on the witness was generally accepted by the relevant scientific community. Id. at 1010 (citing Hadden, 690 So.2d at 575-76; Flanagan, 625 So.2d at 828). We concluded that the summary denial of the claim was error and remanded to the postconviction court for an evidentiary hearing. Id.

In this case, we hold that under Williamson, a Frye hearing was necessary before Dr. Ofshe was permitted to testify. Although Calloway asserts that the testimony in Williamson is factually distinguishable from the testimony presented below, we disagree. In both Williamson and this case, Dr. Ofshe’s testimony ultimately concerned how coercion in the form of threats made to an individual or his family can influence that individuars behavior. Moreover, we have explained that the testimony involved in both Williamson and Hadden involved expert testimony that was more than pure opinion evidence and therefore required a Frye hearing. Williamson, 994 So.2d at 1010; see also Flanagan, 625 So.2d at 828 (“Profile testimony, on the other hand, by its nature necessarily relies on some scientific principle or test, which implies an infallibility not found in pure opinion testimony”). As in Williamson, Hadden, and Flanagan, Dr. Ofshe’s testimony consisted of more than a pure opinion from an expert. In fact, Dr. Ofshe was not permitted to offer an opinion as to whether Calloway’s confession was false, coerced, or otherwise unreliable, but instead only explained that false confessions occur and what factors might produce a false confession. This evidence was supported by research referenced by Dr, Ofshe during his testimony and included a discussion of the rate of occurrence of false confessions and his model of false confessions. His testimony therefore relied upon a scientific or academic principle or test, which constitutes evidence that requires a review of its underlying methodology and acceptance before it can be presented to a jury. See Williamson, 994 So.2d at 1009-10; Hadden, 690 So.2d at 575-76; Flanagan, 625 So.2d at 828.

However, this error was harmless. The primary witnesses for the defense were Calloway and Dr. Ofshe, whose testimony lent academic credence to Calloway’s claim that he was pressured by the police to give a false confession. The central issue of the case was whether Calloway provided a false confession out of fear for himself and his family. Even assuming that the trial court would have entirely excluded testimony from Dr. Ofshe after a proper Frye hearing—which we do not conclude today—the jury nonetheless convicted Calloway of five counts of first-degree murder, armed robbery, armed kidnapping, and armed burglary, after it heard extensive testimony from Dr. Ofshe that the confession may have been the product of coercion and an illicit deal with law enforcement. The State does not allege any harm suffered by this error. Under these circumstances, we conclude there is no reasonable possibility that the failure to conduct a Frye hearing prior to Dr. Ofshe’s testimony ultimately affected the verdict.

Limitations on Testimony of Dr. Ofshe

The next error that Calloway alleges occurred is that the trial court so limited the testimony of Dr. Ofshe that it was rendered meaningless. To demonstrate that Calloway’s confession was false and coerced, defense counsel sought to introduce Dr. Ofshe’s methodology, which requires a comparison between objective facts available beyond what is revealed in a confession and the “facts” developed during the confession. Dr. Ofshe was permitted to explain at length and with few interruptions how an interrogation occurs and what factors an interrogator might use to obtain a confession. During redirect, he was also allowed to discuss studies that examined false confessions and tactics that might induce a false confession. He further stated that he saw the existence of “powerful motivators” that were likely to induce a false confession in Calloway’s account of the interrogation. However, the court prevented Dr. Ofshe from comparing what he called “objectively knowable facts,” such as the information available from Strachan’s testimony and Cooper’s notes, with the “facts” in Calloway’s confession. The trial court explained that both the “facts” as framed by Dr. Ofshe and his assessment of witness credibility were matters for the jury.

We review evidentiary rulings by a trial court for abuse of discretion. Frances v. State, 970 So.2d 806, 813-14 (Fla. 2007). An expert may testify about an opinion developed from facts not in evidence before the jury. § 90.704, Fla. Stat. (1997). However, experts may not comment on the credibility of other witnesses. Frances, 970 So.2d at 814; Feller v. State, 637 So.2d 911, 915 (Fla. 1994). This limitation is intended to minimize any effect that the expert status of the witness may have on the jury’s reception of the testimony. See Feller, 637 So.2d at 915; State v. Townsend, 635 So.2d 949, 958 (Fla. 1994) (“[G]reat care must be taken by a trial judge in determining what testimony of an expert is admissible because a jury often places great emphasis on the testimony of experts .... ”).

In Frances, an expert attempted to testify about the defendant’s general knowledge and comment on the credibility of other witnesses. 970 So.2d at 814. We found no abuse of discretion in excluding such testimony. We noted that expert testimony that did not require specialized knowledge was not admissible, and experts cannot vouch for other witnesses. Id. However, in Boyer, the First District concluded that the wholesale exclusion of Dr. Ofshe’s testimony regarding false confessions was harmful error. 825 So.2d at 419-20. The district court concluded that the jury should have been allowed to consider evidence relevant to the voluntariness of the defendant’s confession, and the jury was free to determine the credibility of Dr. Ofshe’s testimony. Id.

However, Dr. Ofshe’s excluded testimony here would have exceeded the scope of the testimony contemplated in Boyer. Without the limitations imposed by the trial court below, his testimony would have evaluated the credibility of his fellow witnesses, which is not permitted. Frances, 970 So.2d at 814; Feller, 637 So.2d at 915. Unlike in Boyer, Dr. Ofshe was allowed to testify and explain how false confessions might occur. Where the trial court drew the line was when Dr. Ofshe attempted to compare different versions of the facts to each other to suggest that the version provided by Calloway in his confession was not reliable. Allowing Dr. Ofshe to explain that he determined that Calloway’s confession was false because it conflicted with Strachan’s descriptions of what he observed on January 21, 1997, would have exceeded the permissible scope of expert testimony. His opinion was not simply based upon facts and observations not before the jury, but instead relied upon his assessment of the credibility of witnesses and evidence that were before the jury. Such testimony would allow Dr. Ofshe, not the jury, to determine which version of the facts was correct by implying that Stra-chan provided a more reliable account than Calloway himself provided to the police after his 1998 arrest. See Frances, 970 So.2d at 814. Therefore, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it placed these specific limitations on the testimony of Dr. Ofshe.

Cross-Examination of Odom

Calloway next alleges that the trial court improperly limited the scope of cross-examination of Diane Odom, who was Callo-way’s girlfriend at the time of his arrest and who testified during the State’s casein-chief. Calloway spoke to Odom on the phone on the morning of his confession, and she came to the police station that morning at his request. She also rode in the van with Calloway and Detectives Law and Everett while they toured areas that Calloway visited before and after the murders. Calloway proffered that he told Odom that he was concerned for her safety and that of her family, and in response, she temporarily relocated her family. According to Calloway, this demonstrated the validity of the threats revealed by Detective Law before Calloway confessed.

The record does not reflect the exact date of this alleged communication. Before trial, the State suggested that Calloway communicated these threats to Odom two weeks after his arrest. However, during trial, defense counsel proffered that Callo-way informed Odom of the threats during the phone call on the morning of his confession. Calloway himself offered conflicting testimony on this matter. During direct examination, he testified that when he saw her at the police station shortly after he confessed, he told her he needed to “get right with God,” and that he had a deal with Detective Law that would resolve everything within three months, but he did not tell her about the threats because he did not want her to panic. During redirect examination, however, defense counsel elicited that Calloway had communicated concerns for her safety at some point that day, and she temporarily moved out of her apartment immediately.

During direct examination, the State asked Odom if she was afraid for her life when she left Calloway, Everett, and Law after the van ride:

Prosecutor: Were you at that time, Ms. Odom told by Tavares Calloway that your life could be in danger?

Odom: No. Not at that time, no.

Prosecutor: Were you told you needed to be careful and watch out at that time?

Odom: No. I don’t remember at that time. No. Not at that time.

(Emphasis supplied.) The court sustained objections from the State when defense counsel asked Odom during cross-examination what she was afraid of when she stayed with family members of Calloway for two weeks following his arrest. Defense counsel argued that the earlier answer from the State’s direct examination opened the door to other statements made by Calloway to Odom that showed that she was afraid. The court ruled that the witness herself added the words, “not at that time,” which did not amount to a door being opened to further questioning about hearsay statements made between Callo-way and Odom. The court also noted that Calloway was free to recall Odom during his case, which did not occur. Calloway now asserts that these limitations were improper.

Self-serving hearsay statements are generally inadmissible. Kaczmar v. State, 104 So.3d 990, 1000 (Fla. 2012) (citing § 90.803(18), Fla. Stat. (2007)). However, if a partia