Case Title: State v. Dunse

Citation: 

Docket Number: 

State: hawaii

Court: Hawaii Supreme Court

Date: 2005-12-20T00:00:00Z

Document:
“A ERARY,

*** NOT FOR PUBLICATION ***
No. 25374

 

 

 

B
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAT'I- 3 ~
= =
STATE OF HAWAI'I, Plaintiff-Appellee = m
z co
vs. x S

MARK WADE DUNSE, Defendant-Appellant

APPEAL FROM THE THIRD CIRCUIT COURT
(CR. NO. 96-162K)

‘SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER
(By: Moon, C.J., Levinson, Nakayama, Acoba, and Duffy, JJ.)

Defendant-appellant Mark Wade Dunse (Dunse) appeals
from the September 4, 2002 final judgment of the third circuit
court, the Honorable Ronald Ibarra presiding, convicting Dunse of
murder in the second degree in violation of Hawai'i Revised
Statutes (HRS) § 707-701.5 (1993) and sentencing him to life
imprisonment without possibility of parole pursuant to HRS §
706-657 (1993).* On appeal, Dunse contends that (1) HRS § 706-

657 as interpreted by this court is unconstitutional insofar as

 

uns § 707-701. provides:

Marder in the second degree. (1) Except as provided én
section 707-702, 2 person commits the offense of murder in the
Second degree if the person intentionally er knowingly causes the
Gesth of enother person. (2) Murder in the second degree is
Felony for which the defendant shell be sentenced to inprisonment
as provided in section 106-656

 

HRS $ 706-657 prov

 

sn relevant part

The court may sentence # person who has been convicted of
murder in the second degree to Life imprisonment without
Possibility of parcle under section 70s-65€ if the court finds
That the mirder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel,
manifesting exceptional depravity, Ae used in this section, the
Phrase especially heinous, atrocious, or eruel, manifesting
exceptions! depravity neane a conscianceless of pitiless crime
Which is unnecessarily torturous to a victin.

 

 

 
*** NOT FOR PUBLICATION ***
it has denied Dunse his rights to (a) due process; (b) a jury
trial; (c) a republican form of government; and (d) to be free
from ex post facto laws. Dunse further contends that (2) due to
prosecutorial misconduct, ise., the prosecution's destruction of
and failure to preserve and produce both exculpatory evidence and
expert opinion evidence it intended to introduce at trial,
Dunse’s sentence should be amended to life with paroles (3) the
trial court erred in (a) failing to perform a de novo review of
the jury’s findings and (b) improperly refusing to instruct the
jury on the element of “consciousness of the victim”; and (4)
that there was insufficient evidence presented at either his 1997
trial or 2002 sentencing proceeding to support a finding that the

victim suffered unnecessary torture and that the defendant

 

intentionally or knowingly inflicted unnecessary torture on the
victim.

Upon carefully reviewing the record and the briefs
submitted by the parties and having given due consideration to
the arguments advanced and the issues raised, we affirm the
judgment and sentence of the circuit court pursuant to our
holding in State v. Young, 93 Hawai'i 224, 999 P.2d 230 (2000).
Dunse’s constitutional arguments are without merit. The alleged
prosecutorial misconduct was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
The trial court did not err either in its instructions to the
jury o in its review of the jury's findings. Considering the
evidence presented to the trier of fact regarding the amount and
types of injuries sustained by the victim and the reasonable
inferences that the jury could draw therefrom, the prosecution
presented credible evidence of sufficient quality and probative
*** NOT FOR PUBLICATION ***
value in both the 1997 and 2002 proceedings to allow triers of
fact of reasonable caution to support the conclusion that the
murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel. Therefore,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the judgment from which the
appeal is taken is affirmed.

DATED: Honolulu, Hawai'i, December 20, 2005.

On the briefs:
David Glenn Bettencourt for W

the defendant-appellant .

Mark Wade Dunse LearxGoornser

Dale Yamada Ross, Deputy

Prosecuting Attorney, for Dresctts Guinean

the plaintiff-appellee
State of Hawai'l LY

Gren dutty