Case Title: State v. Kirkland

Citation: 2014-Ohio-1966

Docket Number: 2010-0854

State: ohio

Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Date: 2014-05-13T00:00:00Z

Document:
[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as 
State v. Kirkland, Slip Opinion No. 2014-Ohio-1966.] 
 
 
NOTICE 
This slip opinion is subject to formal revision before it is published in 
an advance sheet of the Ohio Official Reports.  Readers are requested 
to promptly notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of Ohio, 
65 South Front Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, of any typographical or 
other formal errors in the opinion, in order that corrections may be 
made before the opinion is published. 
 
SLIP OPINION NO. 2014-OHIO-1966 
THE STATE OF OHIO, APPELLEE, v. KIRKLAND, APPELLANT. 
[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets,  
it may be cited as State v. Kirkland, Slip Opinion No. 2014-Ohio-1966.] 
Criminal law—Aggravated murder—Substantially prejudicial prosecutorial 
misconduct can be cured by the court’s independent evaluation of the 
capital sentence—Death penalty affirmed. 
(No. 2010-0854—Submitted September 11, 2013—Decided May 13, 2014.) 
APPEAL from the Court of Common Pleas of Hamilton County, 
No. B-0901629. 
____________________ 
 
FRENCH, J. 
{¶ 1} This is a death-penalty appeal of right.  Defendant-appellant, 
Anthony Kirkland, was convicted of the aggravated murder of two girls in 
Hamilton County between 2006 and 2009.  He was also convicted of the murder 
of two other women. 
{¶ 2} On the first morning of trial, Kirkland voluntarily pled guilty to the 
murders of Mary Jo Newton and Kimya Rolison, as well as to two counts of abuse 
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of a corpse.  The jury convicted Kirkland on all remaining charges, including 
aggravated murder with death specifications for the deaths of Esme K. and 
Casonya C., and recommended a sentence of death.  The trial court accepted the 
recommendation and sentenced Kirkland accordingly. 
{¶ 3} For the reasons explained below, we affirm Kirkland’s convictions 
and sentence. 
The State’s Evidence at Trial 
{¶ 4} On the night of May 3, 2006, around 11:00 p.m., 14-year-old 
Casonya C. left the home of her grandmother, Patricia C.  She took her book bag, 
gym shoes, and cell phone with her.  Her grandmother assumed Casonya meant to 
spend the night at her mother’s house. 
{¶ 5} Around midnight, Casonya called her friend, Tania H., from the 
front porch of her friend’s house.  Tania told Casonya she was already in bed and 
did not want to go out, so Casonya said she was going back home. 
{¶ 6} After leaving Tania’s house, as she headed for her grandmother’s 
house, Casonya spoke on the phone with her boyfriend, Ra’Shaud B.  The two 
were having an argument when suddenly the phone cut off.  Ra’Shaud tried for 
three days to reach Casonya by telephone, but he never spoke to her again. 
{¶ 7} The next morning, Casonya did not show up at school.  Casonya’s 
mother indicated that she had not seen her daughter, and calls to Casonya’s cell 
phone went to voicemail. 
{¶ 8} At approximately 1:30 p.m. on May 4, 2006, Patricia C. called the 
police to report that her granddaughter was missing. 
{¶ 9} On May 9, 2006, city workers doing landscaping discovered a body 
underneath a pile of old tires.  The body was located in a secluded wooded area, 
approximately ten feet down the hillside from the end of a dead-end road. 
{¶ 10} The body was heavily charred and decomposed, so much so that 
the responding officer could not determine the race or gender of the body.  The 
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front teeth had been recently knocked out.  The only clothing on the body was a 
sock on one foot. 
{¶ 11} Just beyond the end of the road, police found a burn pit, a charred 
site where they believed that the body was burned before it was dragged down the 
hillside and buried under the tires.  And near the pit they found a long piece of 
timber, charred at one end, that appeared to have been used as a poker to stir the 
fire. 
{¶ 12} The forensic pathologist was unable to do a rape examination 
because the pelvic area was almost completely charred.  Investigators were also 
unable to look for DNA evidence under the victim’s fingernails because the hands 
and forearms were completely charred. 
{¶ 13} The body was positively identified as that of Casonya C. by 
comparison of dental x-rays. 
{¶ 14} One month later, on June 15, 2006, the still hot and smoking 
remains of a second human body were found approximately 35 feet from the end 
of a dead-end street.  The right foot was found 37 feet from the body.  Tests 
indicated that the fire was started using either lighter fluid or paint thinner. 
{¶ 15} The autopsy was unable to determine a cause of death but did 
demonstrate that the victim was already dead when the body was set on fire.  The 
body was eventually identified as that of Mary Jo Newton by comparison of 
dental records. 
{¶ 16} In the spring of 2008, skeletal remains of a third victim were 
discovered in a heavily wooded area at the end of another dead-end street.  The 
bones were scattered, and the hands and feet were never found. 
{¶ 17} The cause of death was a sharp-force injury to the neck caused by a 
cutting instrument.  The bones showed traces of burning on the face, the front of 
the hip bones, and the thigh bones.  A forensic anthropologist determined that the 
victim was most likely an African-American woman, probably between 30 and 55 
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years of age.  However, the victim’s identity remained unknown for nearly one 
year. 
{¶ 18} On the afternoon of Saturday, March 7, 2009, 13-year-old Esme K. 
left her home to go jogging, wearing her iPod and a purple watch.  Esme K.’s 
mother called 9-1-1 at 4:21 p.m. to report Esme missing. 
{¶ 19} Police searched abandoned houses and nearby woods.  Eventually, 
two canine-unit officers spotted a man, later identified as Anthony Kirkland, 
sitting underneath some fir trees in the nearby woods. 
{¶ 20} The officers saw knives protruding from his left pants pocket, so 
they disarmed him and searched him.  They found a purple watch and an iPod in 
his pockets.  Etched on the back of the iPod were the words “Property of Esme 
[K].” 
{¶ 21} The officers placed Kirkland in handcuffs.  Kirkland initially gave 
his name as Anthony Palmore.  He claimed that he had found the watch and iPod 
in the woods.  The police read Kirkland his Miranda rights. 
{¶ 22} Efforts to confirm his identity through police databases were 
unsuccessful, but after about 20 minutes, Kirkland gave his real name.  As the 
search for Esme continued, police transported Kirkland to the police station. 
{¶ 23} At around 3:00 in the morning, searchers found the body of Esme 
K. in the woods.  She was naked except for her shoes and socks.  Her body was 
propped up against a tree branch, with her arms crossed and her legs spread.  Her 
groin, inner thighs, and left hand had all been severely burned. 
{¶ 24} The official cause of death was asphyxiation due to ligature 
strangulation, confirmed by a fracture of the hyoid bone, ligature marks on the 
neck, and petechiae on her face consistent with a long struggle.  There was also 
evidence of premortem trauma to Esme’s vagina consistent with rape. 
{¶ 25} Police found Esme’s top a few days later in the parking lot of a 
nearby vacant building.  The shirt had burn holes and had been cut open in the 
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front.  A trail of burnt clothing led police to a white plastic bag containing Esme’s 
grey sweatpants and underpants.  The zipper pocket of the sweatpants was burned, 
but the underwear was not. 
{¶ 26} Investigators took DNA samples from Kirkland’s hands, his penis, 
and a stain on his boxer shorts, and in all three cases, DNA consistent with 
Esme’s was found.  Partial shoe prints in the woods were consistent with the type 
of sneaker Kirkland wore at the time. 
{¶ 27} On the morning of March 8, 2009, Detective Keith Witherell 
interviewed Kirkland.  Witherell had previously interviewed Kirkland on March 
15, 2007, in connection with the homicides of Casonya and Mary Jo.  During the 
2007 interrogation, Kirkland viewed a photograph of Casonya and said that he did 
not recognize her.  He admitted that he knew Mary Jo and that the nature of their 
relationship was sexual, but denied having anything to do with her death. 
{¶ 28} In 2007, police had no forensic evidence tying Kirkland to the 
murders, no eyewitnesses, and no admissions from Kirkland.  Consequently, they 
were unable to arrest or charge him. 
{¶ 29} The first March 2009 interview lasted over four hours.  A video 
recording of that interview was introduced into evidence and played for the jury. 
{¶ 30} During that interview, Kirkland offered multiple, inconsistent 
versions of events.  At the outset, he professed confusion as to the reason for his 
arrest, telling officers that he thought they brought him in because of outstanding 
warrants relating to an altercation with his ex-girlfriend’s current boyfriend and 
that he had no idea he was there because of the missing girl. 
{¶ 31} He repeatedly denied seeing a young girl jogging (or anyone else) 
in the vicinity of the reservoir near where he was found.  He acted as if he did not 
even know the race of the missing girl.  And he professed surprise to learn that the 
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watch and radio,1 which he continued to insist he stumbled upon while walking in 
the woods, belonged to the missing girl. 
{¶ 32} After further questioning, Kirkland admitted meeting Esme at the 
reservoir and told detectives that he could take them to her.  He said that the two 
literally ran into one another and that the collision caused Kirkland to drop his 
beer and lose his temper.  He punched Esme multiple times and kicked her.  But 
he claimed to have left her alive. 
{¶ 33} After detectives told Kirkland that her body had been found, he 
changed his story.  First claiming to have no memory of events, Kirkland then 
admitted chasing Esme into the woods.  But he continued to claim that he left her 
injured but alive, and he repeatedly insisted that she was wearing clothes when he 
left her. 
{¶ 34} As the questioning continued, Kirkland claimed to have left Esme 
alive with a man he knew only as Pedro.  But when challenged, Kirkland 
confessed knowing all along that she was dead.  He admitted that he had returned 
to the reservoir some hours after the murder to move the body. 
{¶ 35} Kirkland said Esme died “because of my hatred.”  But when asked 
directly if he had killed her, he still said no, and as the interview concluded, 
Kirkland was still insisting that he had learned the location of the body from 
Pedro. 
{¶ 36} A second interview of Kirkland began approximately two hours 
later.  This time, Detective William Hilbert questioned Kirkland about Mary Jo 
and Casonya.  The interview occurred in two sessions, the first lasting about two 
and one-half hours, and the second less than 90 minutes.  Video recordings of 
those interviews were introduced into evidence, and a redacted version was 
played for the jury. 
                                                 
1 What Kirkland initially called a radio was in fact Esme’s iPod. 
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{¶ 37} Kirkland gave the following account of Mary Jo’s murder: 
{¶ 38} He first met Mary Jo at the bus stop across the street from the 
downtown Justice Center.  She worked as a prostitute to support a drug habit.  She 
was just getting out of the Justice Center when Kirkland met her.  He and Mary Jo 
had sex together a couple of times. 
{¶ 39} On the day she died, Kirkland picked her up in the College Hill 
area.  They went to a liquor store together, then to a Rally’s for food.  They took 
some drugs.  Next they went by the house of Kirkland’s girlfriend, who was at 
work at the time. 
{¶ 40} As they continued to drive, an argument broke out.  Kirkland 
choked Mary Jo to death from behind.  Then he drove to Avondale and dumped 
her body at the end of a dead-end street.  He had a gas can in his vehicle that he 
used to set the body on fire.  According to Kirkland, he burned the body because 
fire purifies and burning the body was “a proper burial” like the Vikings did.  It 
was still daylight at the time, but no one was around, so Kirkland stayed to watch 
the flames. 
{¶ 41} Hilbert shifted the conversation to Casonya, and Kirkland offered 
this account: 
{¶ 42} He first saw Casonya at the top of a bridge that crosses Interstate 
71 near Walnut Hills High School.  It was around 1:00 in the morning.  Kirkland 
was sitting smoking marijuana.  He heard Casonya having an argument with 
somebody on her cell phone, and when she saw him smoking, she hung up the 
phone. 
{¶ 43} According to Kirkland, Casonya asked him about the marijuana, he 
asked if she was old enough for that, and she answered she was old enough to be 
doing a lot of things. 
{¶ 44} That led to a conversation in which Kirkland gave her $20 and 
agreed to go as high as $60.  He says the money was to pay her just to talk.  The 
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two had an argument about, according to Kirkland, “girls playing games.”  
Casonya threw the money back at him.  At that point, Kirkland got mad and 
grabbed Casonya.  She kneed him, and he strangled her. 
{¶ 45} Before the altercation, the pair had crossed the bridge together and 
descended to Victory Parkway.  From there, Kirkland carried her dead body to a 
wooded area where he burned her, using lighter fluid he took from a nearby 
house.  He then carried her burned body down the hill and covered the body with 
tires because he was scared.  He stayed with the body all night long. 
{¶ 46} Kirkland then offered the following account of Esme’s murder: 
{¶ 47} At around 3:00 in the afternoon, as he was walking near the 
reservoir, Esme ran into him.  She was apologetic, which only enraged Kirkland.  
He punched her, called her names, and demanded to know her name and what 
music she was listening to.  At some point, he chased her into the woods, she 
tripped over a small fence, and he continued to punch and choke her. 
{¶ 48} At first, Kirkland denied raping Esme.  But then he told Hilbert that 
Esme said that “she would do whatever I wanted, just don’t hurt her,” and he 
asked to have sex with her.  However, he was unable to penetrate her completely, 
so he made her masturbate him manually.  Then he choked her to death with his 
bare hands because he did not believe her when she said she would not tell 
anyone.  In a subsequent interview, he elaborated that he had used a rag to 
strangle Esme when his efforts to kill her with his bare hands failed. 
{¶ 49} He propped up her body against a tree and stayed for two hours 
talking to her, apologizing to her.  Then he tried to start a fire using her clothes as 
an accelerant.  It was dark when he left to find lighter fluid “to perform the ritual.”  
He ate some food from a garbage can and eventually returned to the woods (but 
not the body), where he fell asleep until the police found him. 
{¶ 50} A third interview of Kirkland—also shown to the jury—
commenced 30 minutes later.  In the interview, detectives asked him about the 
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unidentified burned body found in the spring of 2008.  At first, Kirkland claimed 
to have killed only three victims.  And then, after a great deal of discussion, 
Kirkland announced, “I, three—I wasn’t honest totally. * * * It was one more.” 
{¶ 51} Kirkland knew her as Kim.  She was working as a prostitute when 
he met her on Reading Road in December 2006.  He paid her $40, and they had 
sex.  As they continued to drive together, an argument broke out, and Kirkland 
pulled the car over.  He stabbed Kim in the throat with her own knife.  He 
dumped her body up a dead-end hill.  He laid the body out on a bed of wood and 
sprayed it with lighter fluid, then covered the body.  He returned a few weeks 
later, to find the skeleton still in place, but the leg bones missing. 
{¶ 52} Police tried to identify those remains using information provided 
by Kirkland, including the fact that on the night she died, she and Kirkland had 
had an encounter with a uniformed police officer in Clifton who told them they 
could not be in a public park after dark.  An investigator reviewed a month’s 
worth of records showing license-verification requests sent by Cincinnati police to 
the state of California.  The search revealed that on December 22, 2006, a police 
officer working in Clifton ran an inquiry on a California driver’s license 
belonging to Kimya Bodi Iamaya Corrine Rolison, whose date of birth roughly 
matched the one Kirkland remembered seeing on her license.  The Rolison family 
confirmed that Kimya was missing.  Dental records confirmed the identity of the 
body. 
{¶ 53} After the state finished playing the videotapes of Kirkland’s 
confessions, and over the defense’s objection, the state called Kylah W. to testify.  
Kylah testified that she was 13 years old in the fall of 2007.  At the time, Kylah 
was living with her mother.  Kirkland was a friend of her mother’s who would 
sometimes stay with them. 
{¶ 54} Kylah testified that on September 26, 2007, she arrived home from 
school at about 3:30 in the afternoon and found herself alone in the apartment 
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with Kirkland.  Kylah was hungry, so she decided to cook herself a hamburger.  
She left the food cooking on low to go into her bedroom to talk to a friend on the 
telephone. 
{¶ 55} According to Kylah, Kirkland knocked on her bedroom door, then 
opened the door, put the hamburger on top of her dresser, and left the room, 
closing the door behind him.  Kylah continued her telephone conversation.  But a 
short time later, Kirkland opened her door again, and this time his “bottoms” were 
down and his privates were exposed.  Kirkland stood in the doorway without 
entering.  Kylah repeatedly told him to get out of her room, which he eventually 
did. 
{¶ 56} Five or ten minutes later, Kirkland returned again.  He was still 
exposing himself.  This time he was carrying a piece of paper, and he approached 
Kylah and held the paper so she could read it.  The note read, “I want to be the 
first to eat you out and I’ll pay you.”  Kylah continued telling him to leave, and 
Kirkland did. 
{¶ 57} But he came to her room a fourth time.  This time he was dressed.  
He walked into her room, placed five dollars on the dresser, and walked out. 
{¶ 58} Unsure what to do, Kylah stayed on the phone with her friend for 
another ten minutes and then left the apartment.  When she later told her mother 
what had happened, her mother told Kirkland to get out of the apartment, and then 
the two women went to the local police station to report the incident.  Kirkland 
was eventually convicted of importuning and served about one year in prison, a 
fact the jury did not learn until the penalty phase. 
The Defense Case 
{¶ 59} The defense did not call witnesses during the guilt phase. 
Procedural History of the Case 
{¶ 60} On March 17, 2009, the state filed a 12-count indictment against 
Kirkland.  The indictment included four counts of aggravated murder with death-
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penalty specifications.  Count Two charged Kirkland with the aggravated murder 
of Casonya C. while committing or attempting to commit rape, a death-penalty 
specification under R.C. 2929.04(A)(7), and Count Four charged Kirkland with 
the aggravated murder of Casonya C. while committing or attempting to commit 
aggravated robbery, R.C. 2929.04(A)(7).  Counts Two and Four included “course-
of-conduct” death-penalty specifications.  R.C. 2929.04(A)(5). 
{¶ 61} Counts Nine and Eleven contained rape and robbery aggravated-
murder charges in connection with the death of Esme K.  Each of these counts 
also included a course-of-conduct specification as well as an escape-detection-or-
apprehension specification under R.C. 2929.04(A)(3). 
{¶ 62} The indictment contained eight additional counts: Count One, 
attempted rape of Casonya; Count Three, aggravated robbery of Casonya; Count 
Six, murder of Mary Jo Newton; Count Eight, attempted rape of Esme K.; Count 
Ten, aggravated robbery of Esme K.; and Counts Five, Seven, and Twelve, gross 
abuse of a corpse. 
{¶ 63} Kirkland was indicted separately for murder and abuse of a corpse 
relating to Kimya Rolison.  Over objection, the two indictments were 
consolidated for trial. 
{¶ 64} On the morning of trial, Kirkland voluntarily entered a plea of 
guilty to the murder and abuse-of-a-corpse charges relating to Mary Jo Newton 
and Kimya Rolison.  On March 12, 2010, the jury found Kirkland guilty on all the 
remaining 
counts, 
including 
all 
the 
death-penalty 
specifications, 
and 
recommended a sentence of death.  For purposes of sentencing, the court merged 
the escape-detection specifications with the specifications of felony murder while 
attempting rape or robbery.  The court then sentenced Kirkland to death for the 
aggravated murder of Esme K. while committing or attempting to commit a rape 
and for the aggravated murder of Casonya C. while committing or attempting to 
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commit a robbery.  The court also sentenced Kirkland to 70 years to life for the 
murders of Mary Jo Newton and Kimya Rolison. 
Legal analysis 
{¶ 65} Kirkland seeks reversal of his convictions of aggravated murder 
and the sentence of death in ten propositions of law. 
1. 
The admission of Kylah W.’s testimony (Proposition of Law I) 
{¶ 66} In his first proposition of law, Kirkland argues that the trial court 
violated Evid.R. 404(B) by allowing Kylah W. to testify that when she was 13 
years old, Kirkland exposed himself to her and offered her $5 to engage in oral 
sex. 
{¶ 67} The trial court has broad discretion in the admission and exclusion 
of evidence, including evidence of other acts under Evid.R. 404(B).  State v. 
Morris, 132 Ohio St.3d 337, 2012-Ohio-2407, 972 N.E.2d 528, ¶ 22.  Unless the 
trial court has “clearly abused its discretion and the defendant has been materially 
prejudiced thereby, this court should be slow to interfere” with the exercise of 
such discretion.  State v. Hymore, 9 Ohio St.2d 122, 128, 224 N.E.2d 126 (1967).  
We have defined “abuse of discretion” as an “unreasonable, arbitrary, or 
unconscionable use of discretion, or as a view or action that no conscientious 
judge could honestly have taken.”  State v. Brady, 119 Ohio St.3d 375, 2008-
Ohio-4493, 894 N.E.2d 671, ¶ 23. 
{¶ 68} Evid.R. 404(B) states that “[e]vidence of other crimes, wrongs, or 
acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in 
conformity therewith.”  Such evidence may, however, be admissible for other 
purposes, “such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, 
knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident.”  Evid.R. 404(B).  
Similarly, R.C. 2945.59 allows the admission of other-acts evidence tending to 
show a defendant’s “motive or intent, the absence of mistake or accident on his 
part, or the defendant’s scheme, plan, or system in doing the act in question.”  
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Generally, evidence of other acts is admissible if it is offered for a purpose other 
than to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity with 
that character, Evid.R. 404(B), it is relevant when offered for that purpose, 
Evid.R. 401, and the danger of unfair prejudice does not substantially outweigh its 
probative value, Evid.R. 403.  State v. Williams, 134 Ohio St.3d 521, 2012-Ohio-
5695, 983 N.E.2d 1278, ¶ 20. 
{¶ 69} The trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting Kylah’s 
testimony.  The state introduced the evidence of her encounter with Kirkland for a 
valid purpose other than proving character in order to show that he had acted in 
conformity with that character: to show that Kirkland offered money to Casonya 
not “just to talk” with her, as he told police, but that he had a sexual intent and 
motive for doing so.  Nor did the trial court admit Kylah’s testimony as proof of 
character.  In fact, in its final instructions to the jury, the trial court told the jury 
that it could not consider evidence of any other acts for such a purpose.  We 
presume that the jury followed this limiting instruction.  See id. at ¶ 23.  Kylah’s 
testimony was relevant to the attempted-rape allegations involving Casonya 
because it tended to show a fact “of consequence,” i.e., that Kirkland had a sexual 
interest in Casonya and a sexual purpose for approaching her.  Evid.R. 401.  
Moreover, the attempted rape of Casonya was one of the only crimes the defense 
contested during the guilt phase, and Kylah’s testimony was relevant to refute the 
defense’s suggestion that Kirkland had an innocent purpose for offering Casonya 
money and that he did not have sex with her. 
{¶ 70} Finally, the danger of unfair prejudice did not substantially 
outweigh the probative value of Kylah’s testimony.  The trial court reduced any 
danger of undue prejudice in its limiting instruction to the jury.  See State v. 
Jones, 135 Ohio St.3d 10, 2012-Ohio-5677, 984 N.E.2d 948, ¶ 194 (limiting 
instruction “minimized the likelihood of any undue prejudice” caused by the 
admission of Evid.R. 404(B) evidence); see also Williams at ¶ 24.  The only claim 
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of prejudice in Kirkland’s brief is his conclusory statement that Kylah’s testimony 
“made the difference between life and death,” a statement that seems to refer to 
the outcome of the mitigation phase rather than the guilt phase.  Kirkland supports 
this claim by citing two newspaper articles that contain posttrial statements from 
the prosecuting attorney and one victim’s stepmother.  These materials are not in 
the record, and we cannot consider them.  State v. Ishmail, 54 Ohio St.2d 402, 377 
N.E.2d 500 (1978), paragraph one of the syllabus (“A reviewing court cannot add 
matter to the record before it, which was not part of the trial court’s proceedings, 
and then decide the appeal on the basis of the new matter”). 
{¶ 71} We overrule Kirkland’s first proposition of law. 
2. 
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel (Proposition of Law II) 
{¶ 72} In his second proposition of law, Kirkland alleges two incidents of 
ineffective assistance of counsel.  First, Kirkland alleges that his trial counsel told 
the jury in the mitigation-phase opening statement that an uncle would testify to 
explain why Kirkland’s parents were not in attendance and why Kirkland should 
receive a sentence other than death.  But the uncle was not called to the stand, and 
the jury was given no explanation in closing argument for the uncle’s absence. 
{¶ 73} The record does not show defense counsel making any such 
representation to the jury in an opening statement, either at the guilt phase or the 
mitigation phase.  Defense counsel told the judge that a family member might 
testify but later reported that the family would not cooperate.  Those statements 
were made outside the presence of the jury.  The record does not support this 
allegation of ineffective assistance. 
{¶ 74} The second alleged deficiency concerns the testimony of 
Kirkland’s mitigation expert witness, Dr. Scott Bresler, a forensic psychiatrist, 
who testified that Kirkland is a psychopath.  Dr. Bresler testified that psychopaths 
have reduced serotonin levels and that a low serotonin level is associated with 
impulsive aggression.  On cross-examination, Dr. Bresler conceded that no brain 
January Term, 2014 
15 
 
scans or chemical tests were performed on Kirkland.  Kirkland now alleges that 
his counsel was ineffective for failing to arrange blood tests for possible lack of 
serotonin. 
{¶ 75} To prove an allegation of ineffective assistance of counsel, a 
defendant must satisfy a two-prong test.  Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 
104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984).  First, he must establish that counsel’s 
performance fell below an objective standard of reasonable representation.  Id. at 
687.  And second, he must show that the deficient performance caused him 
prejudice.  Id.  A defendant can establish prejudice by showing a reasonable 
probability that but for counsel’s errors, the result of the trial would have been 
different.  State v. Bradley, 42 Ohio St.3d 136, 538 N.E.2d 373 (1989), paragraph 
three of the syllabus. 
{¶ 76} Kirkland cannot prevail on this claim at this stage of the 
proceedings.  To prove prejudice, he would need to show that the results of a 
serotonin test would support his case.  In other words, he would need to supply 
proof outside the record, which this court cannot consider on direct appeal.  State 
v. Madrigal, 87 Ohio St.3d 378, 390-391, 721 N.E.2d 52 (2000). 
{¶ 77} We overrule Kirkland’s second proposition of law. 
3. 
Prosecutorial Misconduct (Proposition of Law III) 
{¶ 78} In his third proposition of law, Kirkland alleges prosecutorial 
misconduct in the course of penalty-phase closing arguments. 
{¶ 79} Allegations of prosecutorial misconduct implicate due-process 
concerns, and the touchstone of the analysis is the “ ‘fairness of the trial, not the 
culpability of the prosecutor.’ ”  State v. Newton, 108 Ohio St.3d 13, 2006-Ohio-
81, 840 N.E.2d 593, at ¶ 92, quoting Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209, 219, 102 
S.Ct. 940, 71 L.Ed.2d 78 (1982).  The test for prejudice in closing arguments, 
including penalty-phase closing arguments, is “ ‘ “whether the remarks were 
improper, and, if so, whether they prejudicially affected substantial rights of the 
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defendant.” ’ ”  State v. Braden, 98 Ohio St.3d 354, 2003-Ohio-1325, 785 N.E.2d 
439, ¶ 83, quoting State v. Hessler, 90 Ohio St.3d 108, 125, 734 N.E.2d 1237 
(2000), quoting State v. Smith, 14 Ohio St.3d 13, 14, 470 N.E.2d 883 (1984). 
{¶ 80} By the time the jury heard closing arguments in the penalty phase, 
Kirkland had already pled guilty to the murders of Mary Jo Newton and Kimya 
Rolison.  In urging the jury to return a sentence of death for the other two 
murders, the prosecutor told the jury: “Finally, for the murder of Mary Jo and 
Kimya, which he admitted to before opening statements, he’s going to jail for the 
rest of his life now.  He’s gone.  So I guess Casonya and Esme are just freebies 
for him—”  (Emphasis added.)  The trial court did not sustain the defense’s 
objection.  Thereafter, the prosecutor stated, “Again, and I’ll be very clear about 
this, [life in prison] should not be something you even consider, okay.  He’s going 
to jail on those other two for the rest of his life.” 
{¶ 81} According to Kirkland, the message to the jury was plain: if you do 
not return a recommendation of death, Kirkland will receive no punishment for 
two murders.  Kirkland challenges these statements as improper. 
{¶ 82} We agree.  “[I]t is improper for a prosecutor to argue that a 
sentence less than death is meaningless and would not hold the defendant 
accountable for a victim’s death when he is already serving a life sentence.”  
Hanson v. State, 2009 OK CR 13, ¶ 24, 206 P.3d 1020.  In capital-sentencing 
deliberations, the jury must weigh the aggravating and mitigating circumstances 
of the offense.  But by suggesting that Kirkland would receive no punishment for 
killing Esme and Casonya unless the jury returned a verdict of death for their 
murders, the state asked the jury to set aside its proper assignment and return a 
recommendation of death based on improper considerations. 
{¶ 83} We also find that the prosecutor’s closing argument prejudicially 
affected Kirkland’s substantial rights. 
January Term, 2014 
17 
 
{¶ 84} For a prosecutor’s closing argument to be prejudicial, the remarks 
must be “so inflammatory as to render the jury’s decision a product solely of 
passion and prejudice.”  State v. Williams, 23 Ohio St.3d 16, 20, 490 N.E.2d 906 
(1986).  To determine whether the remarks were prejudicial, the court must 
review the closing argument in its entirety.  State v. Slagle, 65 Ohio St.3d 597, 
607, 605 N.E.2d 916 (1992); State v. Moritz, 63 Ohio St.2d 150, 157, 407 N.E.2d 
1268 (1980).  Thus, the court must consider all of the prosecutor’s remarks, 
irrespective of whether the defense preserved an objection.  State v. Keenan, 66 
Ohio St.3d 402, 410, 613 N.E.2d 203 (1993) (“even though the defense waived 
objection to many remarks, those remarks still form part of the context in which 
we evaluate the effect on the jury of errors that were not waived”). 
{¶ 85} The objectionable statements in the state’s closing argument fall 
into a number of categories. 
References to the subjective experiences of the victims 
{¶ 86} It is error for a prosecutor to invite the jury to consider what the 
victim experienced and felt in her last moments of life, because it improperly 
“ ‘invites the jury to speculate on facts not in evidence.’ ”  State v. Lynch, 98 Ohio 
St.3d 514, 2003-Ohio-2284, 787 N.E.2d 1185, ¶ 122, quoting State v. 
Wogenstahl, 75 Ohio St.3d 344, 357, 662 N.E.2d 311 (1996); State v. Combs, 62 
Ohio St.3d 278, 283, 581 N.E.2d 1071 (1991).  The state’s closing argument 
employed this method on a number of occasions: 
 
What was it like for Casonya that night?  It was dark, she’s alone, 
and the only person escorting her is him. * * * What was it like for 
her then? 
 
 
* * * 
[A]fter he confronts Esme on the back of that building, he talks 
about how she’s cringing and he’s calling her names.  You’re 
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nothing but a lying bitch, this little girl, 4-foot-11.  What did that 
evoke in her? 
 
And she’s petrified. 
 
 
* * * 
 
What’s this little girl going through naked in the woods 
except for her shoes and this little top?  * * * 
 
We know at some point she’s actually vomiting on herself 
she’s so terrified.  * * *  * * *  [Y]ou saw all the scrapes and cuts 
and raw skin on her back and on her behind.  She probably never 
even felt that because of the horrible pain between her legs at that 
point. 
 
Facts Outside the Record 
{¶ 87} A closing argument that goes beyond the record in order to arouse 
an emotional response in the jury may be prejudicial.  State v. Loza, 71 Ohio St.3d 
61, 78-79, 641 N.E.2d 1082 (1994).  Although the prosecution is entitled to a 
degree of latitude in closing argument, it is improper for prosecutors to incite the 
jurors’ emotions through insinuations and assertions that are not supported by the 
evidence and that are therefore “calculated to mislead the jury.”  Smith, 14 Ohio 
St.3d at 14, 470 N.E.2d 883. 
{¶ 88} After graphically describing the strangulation of Esme, the 
prosecutor concluded by saying “she’s not fighting anymore.  She’s not 
struggling.  She just pounds her little hands on the ground and digs into the dirt.  
At that point she’s no longer begging that man to let her live.  She’s begging that 
man to let her die.”  (Emphasis added.)  Nothing in the record supports the claim 
that Esme begged Kirkland to let her die. 
{¶ 89} To generate jury sympathy for Casonya, the prosecutor said, 
“[Y]ou talk about tough childhoods.  How about her?  Her dad is in prison when 
January Term, 2014 
19 
 
she’s born.  She hardly ever sees him.  Her mom chose drugs over her little girl, 
and as a result she’s brought up with some other brothers and sister and cousins 
by her grandma.”  None of this information is in the record.  Casonya’s 
grandmother, Patricia C., testified that she had custody of Casonya and two of her 
brothers “because the mother ran into problems and the children were placed with 
me.”  Patricia did not identify the nature of the problems, much less testify that 
Casonya’s mother chose drugs over her daughter.  Nor is there any testimony 
about the father being in jail or Casonya living with sisters or cousins. 
The “nature and circumstances” of the 
murder as aggravating circumstances 
{¶ 90} While a prosecutor in the penalty phase of a capital trial may refer 
in closing argument to the nature and circumstances of the offense, that 
prosecutor may not “ ‘make any comment before a jury that the nature and 
circumstances of the offense are “aggravating circumstances.” ’ ”  State v. Were, 
118 Ohio St.3d 448, 2008-Ohio-2762, 890 N.E.2d 263, ¶ 209, quoting 
Wogenstahl, 75 Ohio St.3d 344, 662 N.E.2d 311, paragraph two of the syllabus; 
see also State v. Hale, 119 Ohio St.3d 118, 2008-Ohio-3426, 892 N.E.2d 864, ¶ 
200. 
{¶ 91} The state can describe the crime to prove the existence of the 
statutory aggravating factors.  Hale at ¶ 199-200 (a prosecutor described the 
circumstances of the murder to prove that the defendant acted with prior 
calculation and design, which is a statutory aggravating circumstance); Newton, 
108 Ohio St.3d 13, 2006-Ohio-81, 840 N.E.2d 593, at ¶ 54 (the facts of the case 
were relevant to prove that the murder occurred while the defendant was in a 
prison); State v. Jackson, 107 Ohio St.3d 53, 2005-Ohio-5981, 836 N.E.2d 1173, 
at ¶ 93 (the state could properly have victims testify in the penalty phase about 
their experience to establish the course-of-conduct aggravating circumstance). 
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{¶ 92} The state may also argue the nature and circumstances of the 
offense to suggest that there is nothing mitigating about the circumstances of the 
offense.  State v. Davis, 116 Ohio St.3d 404, 2008-Ohio-2, 880 N.E.2d 31, ¶ 324; 
State v. Hoffner, 102 Ohio St.3d 358, 2004-Ohio-3430, 811 N.E.2d 48, ¶ 79; State 
v. Bryan, 101 Ohio St.3d 272, 2004-Ohio-971, 804 N.E.2d 433, ¶ 178-179.  And, 
if the defense argues that the nature or circumstances of the crime is actually 
mitigating, the state may argue the nature and circumstances of the offense to 
rebut the defense’s assertion.  State v. Frazier, 115 Ohio St.3d 139, 2007-Ohio-
5048, 873 N.E.2d 1263, at ¶ 184; State v. Smith, 87 Ohio St.3d 424, 443-444, 721 
N.E.2d 93 (2000). 
{¶ 93} And finally, the state may argue the nature and circumstances of 
the aggravating offense to explain why the aggravating circumstances outweigh 
the mitigation evidence.  State v. Sheppard, 84 Ohio St.3d 230, 238, 703 N.E.2d 
286 (1998). 
{¶ 94} But the state may not tell the decisionmaker that the nature and 
circumstances of the murder itself are the aggravating circumstances.  State v. 
Ketterer, 111 Ohio St.3d 70, 2006-Ohio-5283, 855 N.E.2d 48, ¶ 165-166.  Nor 
can the prosecutor tell the jury to weigh the circumstances of the murder as 
aggravating circumstances against the mitigation evidence.  State v. Skatzes, 104 
Ohio St.3d 195, 2004-Ohio-6391, 819 N.E.2d 215, ¶ 189; State v. Clemons, 82 
Ohio St.3d 438, 446-447, 696 N.E.2d 1009 (1998). 
{¶ 95} In this case, the prosecution repeatedly urged the jury to weigh the 
specific details of the murder against the mitigation: 
 
[Kirkland] wants you to say, hey, I’m a psychopath, that outweighs 
what I did.  It does just the opposite. 
And the last thing he tells us as he’s choking the life out of 
that little girl and squeezing the last breaths out of her little body, 
January Term, 2014 
21 
 
he says she’s not fighting anymore.  She’s not struggling.  She just 
pounds her little hands on the ground and digs into the dirt.  At that 
point she’s no longer begging that man to let her live.  She’s 
begging that man to let her die.  And thankfully it ended for her. 
You’ll never see a case with aggravating circumstances 
that weigh more or mitigation that weighs any less. 
 
 
* * * *  
 
* * *  He takes a rag out of the back of his pocket.  He 
twists it up and he slowly and methodically strangles Esme [K.] to 
death.  She never fought.  She dug her fingers into the dirt as she 
vomited and slowly died. 
Now, let’s weigh that against the mitigation that he is a 
psychopath and a self-proclaimed monster.  Again, ladies and 
gentlemen, strike four, not even a close call. 
 
(Emphasis added.)  With these remarks, the state led the jurors to believe that they 
had to weigh the circumstances of the murder itself against the mitigation. 
{¶ 96} In sum, we find that the state’s closing remarks in the penalty phase 
were improper and substantially prejudicial.  Accordingly, we conclude that 
Kirkland’s third proposition of law is well taken. 
{¶ 97} Nevertheless, we decline to remand the case for a new sentencing 
hearing.  Pursuant to R.C. 2929.05(A), this court must conduct its own 
independent evaluation of the capital sentence, and that evaluation can cure errors 
in penalty-phase proceedings.  See, e.g., Hale, 119 Ohio St.3d 118, 2008-Ohio-
3426, 892 N.E.2d 864, at ¶ 131-132 (improper questions of a penalty-phase 
witness were cured by the independent sentence review); State v. Sanders, 92 
Ohio St.3d 245, 267, 750 N.E.2d 90 (2001) (the independent review can cure a 
trial court’s erroneous decision to exclude a witness, whose testimony had been 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
22 
 
proffered, from the mitigation hearing).  In State v. Mills, 62 Ohio St.3d 357, 373-
374, 582 N.E.2d 972 (1992), for example, this court held that a prosecutor’s 
sentencing argument was “clearly improper” but that the court’s independent 
sentence evaluation would cure any prejudice the argument had caused. 
{¶ 98} Accordingly, the issues raised in the third proposition of law will 
be cured by this court’s review of the sentence, which will not consider the state’s 
improper arguments. 
4. 
“Automatic death” jurors (Proposition of Law IV) 
{¶ 99} In his fourth proposition of law, Kirkland claims ineffective 
assistance of counsel based on his trial counsel’s alleged failure to weed out those 
jurors who would automatically vote for death without regard to mitigating 
factors.  Kirkland asserts that his counsel performed only a “garden variety” 
felony-jury selection, rather than a specialized, specific, and focused voir dire. 
{¶ 100} This proposition of law does not satisfy either prong of the 
Strickland test.  Kirkland does not identify a question that his attorneys should 
have asked but did not, a question that they did ask but should not have, or a 
specific objection that they failed to raise.  Therefore, we have no basis on which 
to conclude that his counsel’s performance was deficient. 
{¶ 101} Likewise, we have no basis on which to conclude that the manner 
in which defense counsel conducted voir dire resulted in prejudice.  In fact, 
defense counsel did identify at least one “automatic death” member of the panel 
and successfully had that person removed for cause. 
{¶ 102} We overrule Kirkland’s fourth proposition of law. 
5. 
The weight of mitigation evidence (Proposition of Law V) 
{¶ 103} In his fifth proposition of law, Kirkland challenges his sentence of 
death, given the alleged weight of mitigation.  This presents an issue best 
addressed concurrently with the court’s independent sentence evaluation, and we 
will discuss it in that context.  See Jones, 135 Ohio St.3d 10, 2012-Ohio-5677, 
January Term, 2014 
23 
 
984 N.E.2d 948, at ¶ 211 (consideration of a challenge to a trial court’s weighing 
of aggravating and mitigating factors deferred until the independent sentence 
evaluation). 
6. 
Constitutional challenges to the death penalty (Proposition of Law VI) 
{¶ 104} Kirkland’s sixth proposition of law consists of nine subparts 
(some with multiple subheadings) challenging the constitutionality of Ohio’s 
death penalty.  The court has addressed most of these issues in previous cases. 
Subpart 1.  “The death penalty is arbitrary and unequal punishment” 
{¶ 105} We have rejected each argument presented in Subpart 1 at least 
once: 
{¶ 106} *  State v. Jenkins, 15 Ohio St.3d 164, 169, 473 N.E.2d 264 
(1984), citing Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 96 S.Ct. 2909, 49 L.Ed.2d 859 
(1976) (rejecting the claim that Ohio’s death-penalty scheme is unconstitutional 
because it gives prosecutors unfettered discretion to indict); 
{¶ 107} *  State v. Short, 129 Ohio St.3d 360, 2011-Ohio-3641, 952 
N.E.2d 1121, ¶ 137, and State v. Mink, 101 Ohio St.3d 350, 2004-Ohio-1580, 805 
N.E.2d 1064, ¶ 103 (both rejecting the claim that Ohio’s death penalty is applied 
in a racially discriminatory manner); 
{¶ 108} *  State v. Buell, 22 Ohio St.3d 124, 136, 489 N.E.2d 795 (1986) 
(rejecting an equal-protection challenge based on the geographic disparity of 
death sentences); and 
{¶ 109} *  Mink at ¶ 103; Jenkins, 15 Ohio St.3d at 168, 473 N.E.2d 264 
(rejecting the claim that the death penalty is unconstitutional because it is neither 
the least restrictive punishment nor an effective deterrent). 
Subpart 2.  Ohio uses “unreliable sentencing procedures” 
{¶ 110} In State v. Glenn, 28 Ohio St.3d 451, 453, 504 N.E.2d 701 (1986), 
this court rejected the argument that allowing juries to weigh aggravating and 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
24 
 
mitigating factors leads to arbitrary and capricious imposition of the death 
penalty. 
Subpart 3(A).  Use of the same jury at trial and sentencing burdens 
a defendant’s rights to counsel and an impartial jury 
{¶ 111} This court rejected this argument in State v. Mapes, 19 Ohio St.3d 
108, 116-117, 484 N.E.2d 140 (1985). 
Subpart 3(B).  Ohio’s death-penalty statutes unconstitutionally 
fail to provide individualized sentencing because they 
require proof of aggravating circumstances during the guilt phase 
{¶ 112} This court rejected this argument in State v. Ferguson, 108 Ohio 
St.3d 451, 2006-Ohio-1502, 844 N.E.2d 806, ¶ 88. 
Subpart 3(C).  Ohio imposes an impermissible risk of death on capital 
defendants who choose their right to trial because a trial judge, 
in the interest of justice, may dismiss the death-penalty specification 
{¶ 113} This court rejected this argument in State v. Van Hook, 39 Ohio 
St.3d 256, 264, 530 N.E.2d 883 (1988). 
Subpart 3(D).  R.C. 2929.04(B)(7) unconstitutionally allows 
a sentencer to convert mitigation evidence into an aggravating factor 
{¶ 114} This court rejected this argument in State v. Scott, 101 Ohio St.3d 
31, 2004-Ohio-10, 800 N.E.2d 1133, ¶ 52-53. 
Subpart 4.  R.C. 2929.04(A)(7) is unconstitutional because, by setting forth as 
aggravating factors the same felony-murder specifications that distinguish 
aggravated murder from murder, R.C. 2929.04(A)(7) does nothing to narrow the 
class of persons eligible for the death penalty 
{¶ 115} This court rejected this argument in State v. Henderson, 39 Ohio 
St.3d 24, 28-29, 528 N.E.2d 1237 (1988). 
 
 
January Term, 2014 
25 
 
Subpart 5.  R.C. 2929.03(D)(1) and 2929.04 are unconstitutionally vague 
{¶ 116} This court rejected a vagueness challenge to R.C. 2929.03(D)(1) 
in State v. McNeill, 83 Ohio St.3d 438, 453, 700 N.E.2d 596 (1998).  We upheld 
R.C. 2929.04 in State v. Chinn, 85 Ohio St.3d 548, 567-568, 709 N.E.2d 1166 
(1999). 
Subpart 6.  The court’s proportionality review is unconstitutional 
{¶ 117} This court summarily rejected this argument in Jones, 135 Ohio 
St.3d 10, 2012-Ohio-5677, 984 N.E.2d 948, at ¶ 207, and Scott, 101 Ohio St.3d 
31, 2004-Ohio-10, 800 N.E.2d 1133, at ¶ 51. 
Subpart 7.  Lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment 
{¶ 118} Kirkland argues that lethal injection violates the Eighth 
Amendment to the United States Constitution.  However, the United States 
Supreme Court has affirmed the constitutionality of lethal injection as a method of 
execution.  Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. 35, 128 S.Ct. 1520, 170 L.Ed.2d 420 (2008).  
This court has reached the same conclusion.  State v. Adams, 103 Ohio St.3d 508, 
2004-Ohio-5845, 817 N.E.2d 29, ¶ 131; State v. Carter, 89 Ohio St.3d 593, 608, 
734 N.E.2d 345 (2000). 
Subpart 8.  The death penalty violates Ohio’s obligations under 
international charters, treaties, and conventions 
{¶ 119} This court has addressed most, but not all, of these claims before.  
In State v. Phillips, 74 Ohio St.3d 72, 103-104, 656 N.E.2d 643 (1995), we held 
that capital punishment does not violate obligations owed under the American 
Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man.  We reaffirmed this holding as to the 
Declaration in State v. Issa, 93 Ohio St.3d 49, 69, 752 N.E.2d 904 (2001).  And in 
Short, we rejected claims that the death penalty is barred by the International 
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the United Nations Covenant against 
Torture, and the international-law norm.  129 Ohio St.3d 360, 2011-Ohio-3641, 
952 N.E.2d 1121, at ¶ 138, citing Buell v. Mitchell, 274 F.3d 337, 370-372 (6th 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
26 
 
Cir.2001); People v. Perry, 38 Cal.4th 302, 322, 42 Cal.Rptr.3d 30, 132 P.3d 235 
(2006); Sorto v. State, 173 S.W.3d 469, 490 (Tex.Crim.App.2005). 
{¶ 120} However, we have not previously addressed the contention that 
Ohio’s death-penalty scheme violates the International Convention on the 
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination or the Convention Against 
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment of Punishment.  But 
as noted above, we have repeatedly held that Ohio’s death-penalty procedures are 
not unconstitutional or imposed in a racially discriminatory manner.  See, e.g., 
Short at ¶ 137; Mink, 101 Ohio St.3d 350, 2004-Ohio-1580, 805 N.E.2d 1064, at 
¶ 103.  And Kirkland “has not advanced any argument that these issues, as 
defined under international law, differ in any significant way from the 
constitutional arguments * * * already addressed, e.g., that equal protection and 
arbitrariness would be evaluated differently under international law than they are 
under the United States or Ohio Constitutions.”  State v. Skatzes, 2d Dist. 
Montgomery No. 15848, 2003-Ohio-516, ¶ 407; see also State v. Tenace, 6th 
Dist. Lucas No. L-00-1002, 2003-Ohio-3458, ¶ 175-185.  In short, these claims 
fail for the same reasons as prior death-penalty challenges based on international 
law. 
{¶ 121} Finally, in subpart 9, Kirkland presents a general challenge to the 
constitutionality of Ohio’s death penalty.  Because this claim is wholly 
conclusory, we summarily reject this argument.  Carter, 89 Ohio St.3d at 607, 734 
N.E.2d 345;  Jenkins, 15 Ohio St.3d at 179, 473 N.E.2d 264. 
{¶ 122} For these reasons, we reject Kirkland’s sixth proposition of law in 
its entirety. 
7. 
Ohio’s Jury Instructions (Proposition of Law VII) 
{¶ 123} Consistent with the definition set forth in R.C. 2901.05(E), the 
trial court instructed the jury that 
 
January Term, 2014 
27 
 
[r]easonable doubt is present when the jurors, after they have 
carefully considered and compared all the evidence, cannot say 
they are firmly convinced of the truth of the charge.  It is a doubt 
based on reason and common sense.  Reasonable doubt is not mere 
possible doubt because everything relating to human affairs or 
depending on moral evidence is open to some possible or 
imaginary doubt. 
Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is proof of such character 
that an ordinary person would be willing to rely and act upon it in 
the most important of his or her own affairs. 
 
Kirkland contends in his seventh proposition that the phrases “willing to act” and 
“firmly convinced” allowed the jury to convict based on a lower standard of 
proof, namely clear and convincing evidence, in violation of due process.  And he 
alleges that the use of the phrase “moral evidence” allowed the jury to convict 
based on subjective moral decisions, rather than demanding proof beyond a 
reasonable doubt. 
{¶ 124} We have repeatedly upheld the constitutionality of Ohio’s 
reasonable-doubt instruction.  Frazier, 115 Ohio St.3d 139, 2007-Ohio-5048, 873 
N.E.2d 1263, ¶ 242; State v. Gapen, 104 Ohio St.3d 358, 2004-Ohio-6548, 819 
N.E.2d 1047, ¶ 145.  The phrases “willing to act” and “firmly convinced” 
adequately convey the difficult concept of reasonable doubt, and they do not 
establish a lower, clear-and-convincing standard.  State v. Nabozny, 54 Ohio St.2d 
195, 201-203, 375 N.E.2d 784 (1978), citing Holland v. United States, 348 U.S. 
121, 139-140, 75 S.Ct. 127, 99 L.Ed. 150 (1954). 
{¶ 125} This court has not specifically discussed the constitutionality of 
the phrase “moral evidence.”  Compare State v. Frazier, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 
62557, 1994 WL 50703 (Feb. 17, 1994), with State v. Frazier, 73 Ohio St.3d 323, 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
28 
 
330, 652 N.E.2d 1000 (1995).  However, the United States Supreme Court has 
considered the meaning of that phrase and concluded that the phrase “moral 
evidence” means the same thing as “beyond a reasonable doubt.  Victor v. 
Nebraska, 511 U.S. 1, 10-12, 114 S.Ct. 1239, 127 L.Ed.2d 583 (1994). 
{¶ 126} Based upon Victor, we reject Kirkland’s seventh proposition of 
law. 
8. 
Imposition of Costs on Indigent Defendants (Proposition of Law VIII) 
{¶ 127} In State v. White, 103 Ohio St.3d 580, 2004-Ohio-5989, 817 
N.E.2d 393, we held that the imposition of court costs upon an indigent defendant 
does not violate the Equal Protection Clause.  In a subsequent decision, this court 
held that “although costs in criminal cases are assessed at sentencing and are 
included in the sentencing entry, costs are not punishment.”  State v. Threatt, 108 
Ohio St.3d 277, 2006-Ohio-905, 843 N.E.2d 164, ¶ 15.  If the imposition of costs 
does not constitute “punishment,” it cannot implicate constitutional prohibitions 
on cruel and unusual punishment. 
{¶ 128} Kirkland asks the court to reconsider its rulings in White and 
Threatt but provides no compelling reason, such as an intervening change in 
United States Supreme Court precedent, to do so. 
{¶ 129} Alternatively, Kirkland suggests that the court should stay the 
collection of costs.  But the logic of White suggests no reason why felons should 
be exempt from payment of costs while they remain incarcerated. 
{¶ 130} Accordingly, we reject Kirkland’s eighth proposition of law. 
9.  Insufficient Evidence of Attempted Rape and/or Aggravated Robbery 
(Proposition of Law IX) 
{¶ 131} Kirkland asserts that the state presented insufficient evidence to 
convict him of attempted rape or robbery in connection with the murder of 
Casonya C.  At the close of the evidence, the defense moved for acquittal on these 
January Term, 2014 
29 
 
charges.  The trial court denied the motion and allowed all the charges to proceed 
to the jury. 
{¶ 132} When reviewing a record for sufficiency, we must consider 
whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the 
crime proven beyond a reasonable doubt.  State v. Leonard, 104 Ohio St.3d 54, 
2004-Ohio-6235, 818 N.E.2d 229, ¶ 77; State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259, 574 
N.E.2d 492 (1991), paragraph two of the syllabus.  The court must view the 
evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution and defer to the trier of 
fact on questions of credibility and the weight assigned to the evidence.  State v. 
Fry, 125 Ohio St.3d 163, 2010-Ohio-1017, 926 N.E.2d 1239, ¶ 146. 
Aggravated Robbery 
{¶ 133} Count Four of the indictment charged Kirkland with aggravated 
murder and included an aggravated-robbery specification.  “Aggravated robbery” 
means a theft offense in which the offender inflicts or attempts to inflict serious 
physical harm on another.  R.C. 2911.01(A)(3). 
{¶ 134} The state provided sufficient evidence to support the charge based 
on the fact that Casonya’s backpack and cell phone were never located.  Tania H. 
testified that Casonya always carried her book bag with her.  Patricia C. testified 
that the book bag was missing.  And Kirkland and Ra’Shaud B. agreed that 
Casonya was talking on her cell phone at the time she encountered Kirkland.  
These facts are sufficient evidence to sustain a conviction for aggravated robbery.  
See State v. Davis, 76 Ohio St.3d 107, 115-116, 666 N.E.2d 1099 (1996).2 
Attempted Rape 
{¶ 135} The relevant definition of rape is “engag[ing] in sexual conduct 
with another when the offender purposely compels the other person to submit by 
                                                 
2 The state argues that “[p]hone records demonstrated the continued use of the phone after 
Casonya’s death,” thus suggesting that Kirkland had possession of the cell phone.  However, 
police testified at trial only that the phone continued to give off a locational signal for about a 
week, but that there were no calls or texts made from the phone after Casonya disappeared. 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
30 
 
force or threat of force.”  R.C. 2907.02(A)(2).  A criminal attempt occurs when a 
person, “purposely or knowingly, and when purpose or knowledge is sufficient 
culpability for the commission of an offense, * * * engage[s] in conduct that, if 
successful, would constitute or result in the offense.”  R.C. 2923.02(A).  We have 
likened Ohio’s definition of attempt to that in the Model Penal Code, which 
requires that the offender not only intended to commit the completed offense, but 
also engaged in conduct constituting a substantial step toward completing the 
offense.  State v. Woods, 48 Ohio St.2d 127, 132, 357 N.E.2d 1059 (1976), 
overruled on other grounds, State v. Downs, 51 Ohio St.2d 47, 364 N.E.2d 1140 
(1977).  “To constitute a substantial step, the conduct must be strongly 
corroborative of the actor’s criminal purpose.”  Woods at paragraph one of the 
syllabus. 
{¶ 136} Kirkland confessed to killing Casonya after she rejected his offer 
of money “to talk.”  Any rational juror could have equated this offer with an offer 
of sex, and even Kirkland concedes “soliciting Casonya to have sex for hire” in 
his brief.  Kirkland’s description of the conversation with Casonya was replete 
with sexual innuendo.  Kirkland told police that when he asked Casonya if she 
was old enough to smoke marijuana, she replied that “she was old enough to be 
doing a lot of things.”  According to Kirkland, he began arguing with Casonya 
about “girls playing games” and the “things that some women wouldn’t do,” and 
Casonya threw the money back at him. 
{¶ 137} That Kirkland attacked Casonya only after she refused his sexual 
advances created a strong inference that he acted with a sexual purpose—that 
being, to forcibly compel from her what she had refused to give him.  The 
physical evidence corroborated this purpose.  Casonya’s body was found in the 
woods, with nothing more than one sock, indicating that Kirkland transported her 
to a secluded area and forcibly undressed her.  See State v. Scudder, 71 Ohio St.3d 
263, 274-275, 643 N.E.2d 524 (1994) (finding that the location of the victim’s 
January Term, 2014 
31 
 
pants around her ankles and underwear at midthigh supported the conclusion that 
she was forcibly undressed); State v. Biros, 78 Ohio St.3d 426, 448, 678 N.E.2d 
891 (1997) (the fact that the victim’s sweater, pants, and undergarments were 
never found revealed the defendant’s “concealment or destruction” of evidence 
and “consciousness of guilt” for purposes of proving attempted rape).  Moreover, 
Kirkland burned Casonya’s entire body so severely that her “pelvic area had 
almost been completely charred by fire,” and so similarly to that of 13-year-old 
Esme K., whom he did confess to raping.  This court has previously found that the 
“evisceration” of a victim’s sexual organs can create a “reasonable inference” of 
an “attempt[] to conceal evidence of rape or attempted rape.”  Id.  While there 
was no testimony about where the fire originated on Casonya’s body, there was 
evidence that the burning of Esme’s body originated in her pubic area.  Kirkland’s 
burning of Casonya revealed the consciousness of guilt. 
{¶ 138} Viewing the evidence, including all permissible inferences, in 
favor of the state, we find that any rational trier of fact could conclude that 
Kirkland formed a purpose to forcibly rape Casonya and engaged in a course of 
conduct—i.e., grabbing, choking, transporting her to a secluded area, and 
undressing her—qualifying as a substantial step toward the completion of that 
crime. 
{¶ 139} Accordingly, we overrule Kirkland’s ninth proposition of law. 
10. 
Cumulative Error (Proposition of Law X) 
{¶ 140} In his tenth proposition of law, Kirkland argues that the court 
should reverse his conviction based on the doctrine of cumulative error.  Under 
that doctrine, this court will reverse a conviction when the cumulative effect of 
errors deprives a defendant of a fair trial even though each of the instances of 
trial-court error does not individually constitute cause for reversal.  State v. 
Powell, 132 Ohio St.3d 233, 2012-Ohio-2577, 971 N.E.2d 865, at ¶ 223; State v. 
DeMarco, 31 Ohio St.3d 191, 196-197, 509 N.E.2d 1256 (1987).  Cumulative 
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error does not apply in cases such as this one where any error in the trial court is 
curable through the court’s independent review.  State v. Brown, 100 Ohio St.3d 
51, 2003-Ohio-5059, 796 N.E.2d 506, ¶ 48. 
Independent sentence evaluation 
{¶ 141} Having considered Kirkland’s propositions of law, this court must 
now independently review Kirkland’s death sentence.  First, the court must 
review and independently weigh all facts and other evidence disclosed in the 
record, “and consider the offense and the offender to determine whether the 
aggravating circumstances the offender was found guilty of committing outweigh 
the mitigating factors in the case, and whether the sentence of death is 
appropriate.”  R.C. 2929.05(A). 
Aggravating circumstances 
{¶ 142} The evidence at trial established beyond a reasonable doubt that 
Kirkland murdered Esme K., with the aggravating circumstance of murdering her 
while committing or attempting rape or aggravated robbery.  The evidence also 
established beyond a reasonable doubt that he murdered Casonya C. with the 
aggravating circumstance of murdering her while committing or attempting 
aggravated robbery or rape. 
{¶ 143} The jury also found an additional aggravating circumstance in 
connection with each murder, namely that the murders were part of a course of 
conduct. 
Mitigating evidence 
{¶ 144} Against these aggravating circumstances, this court must weigh 
the evidence in mitigation submitted by Kirkland. 
{¶ 145} Kirkland called a single witness to testify in mitigation.  Dr. Scott 
Bresler testified that he had performed an evaluation of Anthony Kirkland.  He 
diagnosed Kirkland as having “an adjustment disorder with mixed emotional 
issues and conduct” as well as an antisocial personality disorder.  Kirkland’s 
January Term, 2014 
33 
 
condition causes him to have trouble thinking as well as difficulty in emotions, 
interpersonal functioning, and impulse control.  In lay terms, he is a psychopath. 
{¶ 146} Dr. Bresler testified that the condition manifests in unlawful 
behaviors, a pattern of deceitfulness, impulsivity, irritability, extreme 
aggressiveness, reckless disregard for the safety of himself and others, “a 
consistent kind of irresponsibility over a life force,” and lack of remorse.  The 
problem manifests at an early age.  Individuals appear to be genetically 
predisposed. 
{¶ 147} At the same time, the circumstances of his upbringing played a 
role.  Kirkland’s biological father was alcohol-dependent and extremely violent 
toward Kirkland and his mother.  Until his father left (when Kirkland was about 
nine or ten), Kirkland was often beaten by his father, often watched his father beat 
his mother, and was forced to watch his father rape his mother. 
{¶ 148} By his early teens, Kirkland had engaged in extensive substance 
abuse.  He often fought with other kids.  He suffered from depression, for which 
he did not seek treatment until his adult years. 
{¶ 149} Meanwhile, his mother remarried and got help for herself and 
some of the children, but not Kirkland, who was the oldest.  As a result, his 
attachment to his family, which the forensic psychiatrist testified allows a person 
to adapt to the world and to live responsibly, was damaged.  Throughout his 
adulthood, he formed no stable relationships, maintained no steady income, drank 
and took drugs, and, after his release from prison, became homeless.  According 
to Dr. Bresler, Kirkland “cannot live responsibly in society ever.” 
{¶ 150} Dr. Bresler also testified that Kirkland was able to justify his 
crimes, with one exception: he cannot rationalize his killing of Esme K., and “so 
oftentimes when he talks about her he’ll cry.” 
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{¶ 151} Finally, Dr. Bresler stated that Kirkland would have a difficult 
time adjusting to life in prison, but prison can handle him, as shown by the fact 
that he had already spent 17 years in prison. 
{¶ 152} This statement from Dr. Bresler was the first time the jury learned 
that Kirkland spent an extended period of time in jail.  Kirkland went to prison in 
1987 after murdering Leola Douglas and setting her on fire.  And while he was 
incarcerated, he threatened various prison officials and staff. 
{¶ 153} Finally, Dr. Bresler testified on cross-examination that Kirkland’s 
sisters were sexually abused by their father, and also by Kirkland himself when he 
was 13. 
{¶ 154} Kirkland made a brief unsworn statement to the jury.  He accepted 
responsibility for the deaths of the four women.  He said he “get[s] so angry and 
cannot stop [him]self,” though he acknowledged that was no excuse.  He 
expressed a desire to be locked away forever.  “I cannot believe how horrible I 
am.  I will never forgive—forget or rest or be at peace, nor should I.”  He said he 
confessed to the police because he wanted it to stop.  And in conclusion, he told 
the jury: “I do not blame you if you kill me.  I don’t deserve to live, but please 
spare my life.” 
Sentence evaluation 
{¶ 155} R.C. 2929.04(B)(7) provides that the court may consider as 
mitigation, in addition to other factors listed in the statute, “any other factors that 
are relevant to the issue of whether the offender should be sentenced to death.”  
Kirkland has pointed to several facts that may have mitigating weight under 
division (B)(7): 
{¶ 156} *  His personality disorder: This court has traditionally accorded 
personality disorders some, but little, weight.  State v. Cunningham, 105 Ohio 
St.3d 197, 2004-Ohio-7007, 824 N.E.2d 504, ¶ 138; Hoffner, 102 Ohio St.3d 358, 
2004-Ohio-3430, 811 N.E.2d 48, at ¶ 119. 
January Term, 2014 
35 
 
{¶ 157} *  His abusive childhood: The court accords some, but not 
decisive, weight to evidence that the defendant suffered an abusive childhood.  
Powell, 132 Ohio St.3d 233, 2012-Ohio-2577, 971 N.E.2d 865, at ¶ 276; Hale, 
119 Ohio St.3d 118, 2008-Ohio-3426, 892 N.E.2d 864, at ¶ 265. 
{¶ 158} *  His history of alcohol and drug abuse: A history of drug and 
alcohol abuse is entitled to weight in mitigation.  Scott, 101 Ohio St.3d 31, 2004-
Ohio-10, 800 N.E.2d 1133, ¶ 108. 
{¶ 159} *  His confession and cooperation with police: A defendant’s 
confession and cooperation with law enforcement are mitigating factors.  State v. 
Bethel, 110 Ohio St.3d 416, 2006-Ohio-4853, 854 N.E.2d 150, ¶ 191.  The 
mitigation value of Kirkland’s confessions would usually receive little weight, 
given that he initially lied to police and tried to blame Esme K.’s murder on the 
fictitious Pedro.  State v. Perez, 124 Ohio St.3d 122, 2009-Ohio-6179, 920 N.E.2d 
104, ¶ 247.  However, in the peculiar circumstances here, we believe Kirkland’s 
confession is entitled to serious consideration because the information he 
voluntarily provided enabled the police to identify the body of Kimya Rolison and 
thus her family was able to learn what had happened to her. 
{¶ 160} *  Remorse: Apologies and expressions of remorse in an unsworn 
statement are given some mitigating weight.  State v. Trimble, 122 Ohio St.3d 
297, 2009-Ohio-2961, 911 N.E.2d 242, at ¶ 327.  Although the transcript cannot 
capture his tone or affect, there is no question that Kirkland expressed a good deal 
of self-loathing in his unsworn statement. 
{¶ 161} The sincerity of his remorse was a hotly contested issue.  Dr. 
Bresler testified that Kirkland cried during their sessions when he talked about 
killing Esme K.  Detective Hilbert, on the other hand, had the impression that 
when Kirkland cried during his police interviews, it was more out of self-regard 
than concern for the victims.  Kirkland’s allocution consisted of six simple words: 
“Offer an apology to the family.”  The statement is revealing: he apologized to the 
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family, singular, probably the family of Esme K.  Whatever credit he is due for his 
remorse over killing Esme is offset by his apparent lack of remorse for the pain 
and suffering he caused his other victims and their families.  His expressions of 
remorse are too infrequent, too ambiguous, and ultimately too self-serving to 
justify according them significant weight. 
{¶ 162} * Mercy: The trial court gave some mitigating value to Kirkland’s 
request for mercy in his unsworn statement.  But mercy is not a mitigating factor.  
State v. O’Neal, 87 Ohio St.3d 402, 416, 721 N.E.2d 73 (2000). 
{¶ 163} In State v. Tenace, 109 Ohio St.3d 255, 2006-Ohio-2417, 847 
N.E.2d 386, ¶ 97-106, this court vacated a death sentence on the grounds that the 
aggravating circumstances of the offense did not outweigh the mitigating factors.  
The court afforded great weight to the tragic circumstances of Tenace’s 
childhood.  Both his parents were criminals and substance abusers, and they were 
neglectful and abusive to the children.  Id. at ¶ 103.  Tenace was sexually abused 
himself, including being sold by his mother for sexual services, and forced to 
watch the sexual abuse of his sister.  Id. at ¶ 102.  He was exposed to substance 
abuse by his mother and her boyfriends, who encouraged him to commit crimes.  
Id. 
{¶ 164} In contrast, we declined to vacate the death sentence based on 
childhood circumstances in State v. Mundt, 115 Ohio St.3d 22, 2007-Ohio-4836, 
873 N.E.2d 828, ¶ 206.  Mundt’s mother had eight children by four different 
fathers.  Id. at ¶ 192.  A children’s protective agency removed Mundt from his 
mother’s custody for one month when he was an infant.  Id.  And when he was 
approximately five years old, his mother voluntarily surrendered custody of her 
children because she was homeless.  Id.  However, this court concluded that 
Mundt’s mitigation evidence “present[ed] nothing comparable to Tenace.”  Id. at 
¶ 206. 
January Term, 2014 
37 
 
{¶ 165} Kirkland’s case falls somewhere between the extremes 
represented by Tenace and Mundt.  The testimony of pervasive physical and 
sexual abuse in Kirkland’s home exceeds anything alleged by Mundt.  At the 
same time, it does not equate to the facts in Tenace.  Kirkland was abused by one 
parent, his father, George Palmore.  So unlike Tenace, Kirkland had one 
nonabusive parent in his life.  Moreover, his father left the home when Kirkland 
was nine or ten years old, and there is no evidence that any abuse continued 
during his teen years when he lived with his mother.  The fact that Kirkland is a 
psychopath from a dysfunctional home is tragic, but not sufficient to outweigh the 
aggravating circumstances of his crimes, even when coupled with the other 
mitigating factors identified above. 
{¶ 166} We therefore affirm the sentence and, in doing so, reject 
Kirkland’s contention that the aggravating circumstances did not outweigh the 
mitigating evidence. 
Proportionality review 
{¶ 167} The second part of the court’s independent review requires us to 
decide whether a sentence of death satisfies the requirement of proportionality.  
R.C. 2929.05(A) requires this court to “consider whether the sentence is excessive 
or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases.” 
{¶ 168} In Jones, 135 Ohio St.3d 10, 2012-Ohio-5677, 984 N.E.2d 948, at 
¶ 265, this court affirmed the defendant’s death sentence for aggravated murder in 
the course of committing a rape.  The court has also affirmed death sentences in 
cases combining a course-of-conduct specification with a robbery-murder 
specification.  See Perez, 124 Ohio St.3d 122, 2009-Ohio-6179, 920 N.E.2d 104, 
at ¶ 253, and cases cited therein.  Therefore, we find that the sentence is 
appropriate. 
Judgment affirmed. 
O’CONNOR, C.J., and O’DONNELL and KENNEDY, JJ., concur. 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
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PFEIFER and LANZINGER, JJ., concur in part and dissent in part. 
O’NEILL, J., dissents. 
____________________ 
PFEIFER, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part. 
{¶ 169} Ohio continues to employ the death penalty as part of our 
criminal-justice punishment scheme, and Anthony Kirkland’s predatory, brutal, 
and heinous crimes clearly qualify him for that ultimate penalty.  The state had a 
seemingly airtight case against Kirkland, but overzealousness in both the guilt and 
punishment phases has tainted its efforts; this court will taint the law if we bless 
the state’s actions.  In regard to the penalty phase, I concur in Justice Lanzinger’s 
opinion that Kirkland should be resentenced due to the prejudicial effects of 
prosecutorial misconduct.  In regard to the guilt phase, I write separately to 
dissent from the majority’s holding sustaining Kirkland’s conviction on the 
attempted rape of Casonya C. 
I 
{¶ 170} I dissent from the majority’s holding regarding the “other acts” 
evidence introduced at trial through the testimony of Kylah W.  Kylah testified 
that when she was 13 years old, Kirkland had exposed himself to her and solicited 
sex from her.  In my judgment, Evid.R. 404(B) should have precluded the 
admission of that testimony; also, its admission was unfairly prejudicial pursuant 
to Evid.R. 403. 
{¶ 171} The state’s theory is that Kirkland’s September 26, 2007 offer to 
pay Kylah for a sex act is evidence that is admissible to prove that Kirkland 
attempted to rape Casonya over a year earlier, in May 2006.  There is no doubt 
that the testimony regarding Kirkland’s exposing himself to Kylah and offering to 
pay her for a sex act are revelatory.  The acts show him to be an evil person who 
sexualizes underage girls and is willing to pay for sex.  That is, the evidence 
demonstrates his character.  The state admitted as much in its closing argument 
January Term, 2014 
39 
 
when it told the jury that the kind of a man who would pay a girlfriend’s child for 
sex acts is the kind of man who would rape Casonya: 
 
 
First count, again, is a charge of attempted rape; that when 
he approached Casonya [C.] on that bridge, when he walked with 
her and when he offered her money, it was an act, it was an attempt 
to have sexual contact with her. 
 
And, again, this is where the other acts testimony comes in. 
* * * This is a young girl [Kylah W.] that actually was the 
daughter of one of his girlfriends, but he sees her as he sees all 
women, as a sex object. 
 
And what does he do, offers this little 13-year-old girl, 
whose mother actually is nice enough to let him live there from 
time to time, five dollars for, his words, to be the first to eat her 
out. 
 
* * * 
 
But he wants you to believe that when confronted by a 
stranger, a 14-year-old girl walking across the bridge, he offered 
her 20 dollars and it got up to 60 dollars to talk. 
 
Well, I’m sure if this little girl was offered 60 dollars just to 
talk, she would have taken it, but something he said or did made 
her take that money, throw it back in this predator’s face and knee 
him.  Did she do that because he said let’s talk, or did he say I want 
to have sex with you— 
 
* * * 
 
You look at his pattern.  You look at what he does when he 
sees a woman.  You see what’s in his eyes.  He sees sex.  And he’s 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
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going to get it. He’ll barter for it, he’ll pay for it, but he’s gonna 
get it. 
 
We don’t know if he was successful or not [in raping 
Casonya C.].  He did a pretty good job destroying it. 
 
As demonstrated by the state’s use of the evidence in closing argument, Kylah’s 
testimony was not relevant to prove any consequential fact.  Its only probative 
value was to show that Kirkland is a very bad person who would pay for sex with 
an underage girl, and therefore he must have raped Casonya. 
{¶ 172} Evidence that an accused committed a crime other than the one 
for which he is on trial is not admissible when its sole purpose is to show the 
accused’s propensity or inclination to commit crime, that is, to show that he acted 
in conformity with his bad character.  State v. Curry, 43 Ohio St.2d 66, 68, 330 
N.E.2d 720 (1975).  Evid.R. 404(B) codifies the common law with respect to 
evidence of other acts of wrongdoing and is construed against admissibility. State 
v. Lowe, 69 Ohio St.3d 527, 530, 634 N.E.2d 616 (1994).  The standard for 
determining the admissibility of such evidence is strict.  State v. Broom, 40 Ohio 
St.3d 277, 533 N.E.2d 682 (1988), paragraph one of the syllabus. 
{¶ 173} Evid.R. 404(B) establishes when other-acts evidence is 
admissible:  
 
 
Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible 
to prove the character of a person in order to show action in 
conformity therewith.  It may, however, be admissible for other 
purposes such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, 
knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident. 
 
January Term, 2014 
41 
 
The majority rules that Kylah’s testimony is admissible under Evid.R. 404(B) 
because Kirkland’s act—soliciting Kylah—demonstrated that “he had a sexual 
intent and motive” for offering Casonya money.  Majority opinion at ¶ 69.  But 
Kirkland faces the death penalty for the death of Casonya not because he offered 
her money for a sex act but because he allegedly attempted to rape her before 
killing her.  Intent to solicit sex is not the same thing as intent to compel sex.  And 
murder committed in anger because a sexual advance has been refused is not the 
same crime as murder in the course of rape.  The state needed to show, pursuant 
to Evid.R. 404(B), that the act of soliciting Kylah established a motive for the 
attempted rape of Casonya or that the act of soliciting Kylah established that 
Kirkland’s intent was to rape Casonya.  On the pivotal question of whether 
Kirkland attempted to rape Casonya, Kylah’s testimony sheds no light.  When 
Kylah rejected Kirkland’s proposition, he did not rape her.  He walked away.  
Thus, Kirkland’s bad act shows no intent or motive regarding the crime at issue, 
and the testimony is not admissible under Evid.R. 404(B). 
{¶ 174} Further, I would find Kylah’s testimony inadmissible under 
Evid.R. 403 because its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger 
of unfair prejudice.  Because of the complete lack of corresponding operative 
facts between the behavior toward Kylah and the murder of Casonya, Kylah’s 
testimony was of limited probative value.  Kylah was the daughter of a friend of 
Kirkland, and he would sometimes stay with the family.  Kirkland exposed 
himself to Kylah while she was in her bedroom, but then left the room.  He 
returned with a note offering to pay her for a sex act and then left the room again.  
Finally, after again entering the room—while dressed—he put a five-dollar bill on 
her dresser and then left.  Kirkland did not react violently when Kylah refused his 
offer. 
{¶ 175} In contrast, Casonya was a stranger.  The encounter between 
Kirkland and Casonya occurred randomly, in public, and at night.  There is no 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
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evidence that Kirkland solicited Casonya for sex or that Kirkland exposed himself 
to her.  Finally, after offering money to Casonya, Kirkland responded with 
violence when she threw the money back at him.  The question in this case is 
whether there was a rape at all.  Kirkland’s criminal but nonviolent activity with 
Kylah is being offered to show that a rape occurred.  That is, a situation where no 
rape occurred is being used as evidence that a rape occurred.  The evidence is thus 
of limited probative value. 
{¶ 176} Kylah’s testimony was undoubtedly prejudicial, even to a 
defendant as demonstrably repugnant as Kirkland.  The majority mentions a 
newspaper article that it dared not quote because it is not in the record.  The 
defense claims that it demonstrates prejudice.  I will save the reader the trip to the 
Internet:  Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters told the Cincinnati Enquirer 
that Kylah’s testimony was pivotal in Kirkland’s conviction for the capital murder 
of Casonya: 
 
Deters wonders if the jury would have recommended the 
death sentence in the case involving Casonya without the girl’s 
testimony. 
“I think it would have been a coin flip,” Deters said. “There 
is no question she made the difference in Casonya’s case.” 
 
Perry, Deters: Teen’s testimony could seal killer Anthony Kirkland’s fate, The 
Cincinnati Enquirer (March 31, 2010).  Certainly, Prosecutor Deters was 
attempting to publicly recognize a young girl for her courage and may have 
overstated her importance in the case, but there can be no doubt that Kylah’s 
testimony was highly prejudicial against Kirkland. 
{¶ 177} Without question, evidence that a grown man sexually solicited 
and exposed himself to a girl he knew to be 13 years old is prejudicial.  The 
January Term, 2014 
43 
 
testimony was unfairly prejudicial because the state, by its own admission, used 
the testimony to convince the jury that Kirkland must have tried to rape Casonya.  
The state rested its entire opposition to Kirkland’s Civ.R. 29 motion on Kylah’s 
testimony: “Specifically in regard to the attempted rape on Casonya [C.], this last 
witness [Kylah] has shown there was a common scheme or plan.” 
{¶ 178} Because the other-acts testimony reflected on Kirkland’s 
character, did not meet the requirements of Evid.R. 404(B), and was unfairly 
prejudicial under Evid.R. 403, I would find that Kirkland’s first proposition of 
law has merit. 
II 
{¶ 179} Kirkland asserts in his ninth proposition of law that there was 
insufficient evidence to convict him of attempted rape in connection with the 
murder of Casonya C.  At the close of the evidence, the defense made a Crim.R. 
29 motion for acquittal on that charge.  The trial court denied the motion and 
allowed all charges to proceed to the jury.  I would find that there is insufficient 
evidence to convict Kirkland of attempted rape. 
{¶ 180} When reviewing a record for sufficiency, the court must consider 
whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any 
rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime proved 
beyond a reasonable doubt.  State v. Leonard, 104 Ohio St.3d 54, 2004-Ohio-
6235, 818 N.E.2d 229, at ¶ 77; State v. Jenks, 61 Ohio St.3d 259, 574 N.E.2d 492 
(1991), paragraph two of the syllabus.  The court must view the evidence in the 
light most favorable to the prosecution and defer to the trier of fact on questions 
of credibility and the weight to assign evidence.  State v. Fry, 125 Ohio St.3d 163, 
2010-Ohio-1017, 926 N.E.2d 1239, at ¶ 146. 
{¶ 181} The crime of rape is “engag[ing] in sexual conduct with another 
when the offender purposely compels the other person to submit by force or threat 
of force.”  R.C. 2907.02(A)(2).  The crime of attempted rape is complete when an 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
44 
 
offender purposely engages in conduct that, if successful, would constitute or 
result in the offense of rape.  R.C. 2923.02(A).  We have explained a “criminal 
attempt” as an act “constituting a substantial step in a course of conduct planned 
to culminate” in an offender’s commission of the crime.  State v. Woods, 48 Ohio 
St.2d 127, 357 N.E.2d 1059 (1976), at paragraph one of the syllabus.  To 
constitute a “substantial step,” the conduct must be strongly corroborative of the 
offender’s purpose to commit the crime, thus directing attention to the offender’s 
overt acts.  State v. Group, 98 Ohio St.3d 248, 2002-Ohio-7247, 781 N.E.2d 980, 
at ¶ 95. 
{¶ 182} The element of force for purposes of proving the attempted rape 
of Casonya C. is obvious and indisputable.  The question, then, is what overt acts 
were presented as evidence to prove that Kirkland attempted to compel sexual 
conduct.  The police collected no physical evidence of rape from a rape kit, 
because the fire damage to Casonya’s body, specifically her pelvic area, 
prevented the forensic pathologist from taking any specimens.  And during his 
police interrogation, Kirkland repeatedly denied having sex with Casonya. 
{¶ 183} The majority states that Kirkland’s offer of money to Casonya “to 
talk” was an offer of sex.  But without Kylah’s testimony, the state had no 
evidence from which to conclude that the offer of money was for sexual services.  
And even if there were evidence that Kirkland offered Casonya money for sex, 
that evidence would not be probative of whether he attempted to rape her before 
he killed her. 
{¶ 184} The majority points to physical evidence that it says is consistent 
with a sexual purpose behind the murder.  Casonya was found naked save for a 
single sock.  The state argues that that fact, standing alone, is sufficient to sustain 
the attempted-rape conviction.  However, even in the cases cited by the majority, 
the naked condition of the body was not the sole evidence of sexual assault.  See 
January Term, 2014 
45 
 
State v. Scudder, 71 Ohio St.3d 263, 274-275, 643 N.E.2d 524 (1994); State v. 
Biros, 78 Ohio St.3d 426, 447-448, 678 N.E.2d 891 (1997). 
{¶ 185} This court’s holding in State v. Heinish, 50 Ohio St.3d 231, 553 
N.E.2d 1026 (1990), suggests that the naked condition of the body, standing 
alone, is insufficient to sustain a conviction for aggravated rape.  In Heinish, the 
murdered victim was found with her jeans partially unzipped and pulled down 
several inches from her hips.  Id. at 232.  Her shoes, jacket, and watch were 
missing, and there was no underwear on the body.  There was also a saliva stain 
on the crotch of her jeans that, according to laboratory tests, was consistent with 
the defendant’s.  Despite this evidence, this court vacated Heinish’s attempted-
rape conviction, because “[e]vidence of finding the victim’s body in the condition 
noted above does not allow the fact-finder to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt 
that an attempted rape has occurred.”  Id. at 239. 
{¶ 186} The burning of Casonya’s body, coupled with other-acts evidence 
concerning Kirkland’s sexual assault of another victim, Esme K., presents a closer 
call.  According to the state, Kirkland’s intent to rape Casonya is evident from the 
fact that he raped Esme:  “The stark similarities between the defendant’s attack on 
Esme [K.], i.e., the beating, the vaginal burning, the nude body, are particularly 
relevant.” 
{¶ 187} When Kirkland burned the body of Esme K.—a girl we know he 
did rape—he started the fire in her pubic area.  Based on that evidence, the state 
argues for an inference of rape of Casonya C. because the fire was started in or 
was concentrated in the vaginal area, which the state characterizes as an obvious 
attempt to destroy any evidence of rape. 
{¶ 188} However, the record does not support the state’s assertion that the 
fire was started in or concentrated on Casonya’s vaginal area.  Obinna Ugwu, 
M.D., a deputy coroner and forensic pathologist employed by the county, offered 
no testimony as to the origin point of the fire on Casonya’s body.  The only 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
46 
 
opinion came from Elizabeth Murray, Ph.D., a forensic anthropology consultant.  
Dr. Murray testified that “[i]t looked like the center of the fire was at the center of 
the body.”  Dr. Murray was not asked to clarify whether, by “the center of the 
body,” she meant the vaginal area or somewhere on the torso.  However, it is clear 
in context that she meant the latter: she testified that the hands and forearms were 
most burned because they were likely folded across the body.  Also, she noted 
that the legs were not as severely burned, suggesting again that she believed the 
fire began higher on the body.  In fact, Casonya’s legs were the only part of the 
body not substantially charred by the fire. 
{¶ 189} Burning Casonya’s body may well have been an attempt to 
destroy evidence of her murder, not to destroy evidence of an attempted rape.  
Kirkland burned the bodies of all four of his victims, not just Esme and Casonya.  
Ultimately, all the state was able to prove was that Kirkland destroyed the bodies 
of his victims, including the bodies of two victims who were not raped.  The fact 
that he burned Casonya’s body is not probative evidence of whether he attempted 
to rape her first. 
{¶ 190} In summary, the state presented insufficient evidence of attempted 
rape, and I would therefore reverse Kirkland’s conviction on that charge. 
III 
{¶ 191} In conclusion, I believe that the case should be remanded for 
resentencing without a consideration of the attempted rape of Casonya Crawford 
as an aggravating circumstance.  The protections afforded by state law and our 
constitutions are only as meaningful as this court’s willingness to recognize them. 
____________________ 
LANZINGER, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part. 
{¶ 192} I concur in the judgment affirming Kirkland’s convictions.  But 
because I believe that the prosecutorial misconduct in this case violated 
Kirkland’s rights to due process, I respectfully dissent from the majority’s 
January Term, 2014 
47 
 
decision to affirm his death sentence and would remand the case for a new 
sentencing hearing pursuant to R.C. 2929.06(B). 
{¶ 193} Although I agree with the majority’s conclusion that “the 
prosecutor’s closing argument prejudicially affected Kirkland’s substantial 
rights,” majority opinion at ¶ 83, I disagree with the majority’s decision declining 
to remand the case for a new sentencing hearing.  Our procedures for sentencing 
in capital cases charge two independent bodies with evaluating whether the death 
penalty is proper:  the jury or a three-judge panel at the trial level and this court at 
the appellate level.  In cases like this, where a jury has recommended a sentence 
of death, our independent review of a death sentence should occur only if proper 
sentencing-phase procedures were followed leading up to the jury’s 
recommendation. 
{¶ 194} While R.C. 2929.05(A) provides that we must conduct an 
independent evaluation of the death sentence, we should not conduct this 
evaluation when the sentence was recommended by a jury that was exposed to 
substantial and prejudicial prosecutorial misconduct.  We have typically used our 
independent evaluation of the death sentence to correct errors of law by the trial 
court in its sentencing opinion.  See, e.g., State v. Lang, 129 Ohio St.3d 512, 
2011-Ohio-4215, 954 N.E.2d 596, ¶ 298; State v. Fox, 69 Ohio St.3d 183, 191, 
631 N.E.2d 124 (1994).  By declining to remand this case, the majority fails to 
preserve the unique role of the jury in capital cases. 
{¶ 195} As noted in the majority opinion, a prosecutor’s closing argument 
is prejudicial when it is “so inflammatory as to render the jury’s decision a 
product solely of passion and prejudice.”  State v. Williams, 23 Ohio St.3d 16, 20, 
490 N.E.2d 906 (1986).  The majority opinion cites repeated remarks by the 
prosecutor that meet this standard in this case, and it concludes that “the state’s 
closing remarks in the penalty phase were improper and substantially prejudicial.”  
Majority opinion at ¶ 96.  This conclusion is borne out by the record. 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
48 
 
{¶ 196} Because the prosecutorial misconduct in this case potentially 
rendered the jury’s decision recommending death “a product solely of passion and 
prejudice,” it cannot be cured by this court’s independent review of the sentence.  
While our own evaluation can cure errors occurring during the penalty phase, it 
cannot cure an error that may have caused the jury to recommend a sentence that 
is solely a product of prejudice.  The majority cites State v. Mills, 62 Ohio St.3d 
357, 373-374, 582 N.E.2d 972 (1992).  In Mills, however, there were far fewer 
instances of prosecutorial misconduct, and the defendant failed to object.  Most 
significantly, we did not conclude that the state’s actions were substantially 
prejudicial.  Kirkland’s case, on the other hand, is not a case in which offhand 
remarks by the prosecutor may have had a negligible effect.  Here, the majority 
has concluded that the prosecutorial misconduct was substantially prejudicial.  I 
do not believe that we can conduct an independent review of a death sentence that 
was not properly recommended, and I therefore would reverse the judgment and 
remand for a proper sentencing hearing. 
{¶ 197} Reversing the judgment sentencing Kirkland to death would not 
mean that he has escaped the death penalty for his actions.  Because this case 
would be remanded due to an error that occurred during the sentencing phase of 
the trial, Kirkland would still be eligible for the death penalty pursuant to R.C. 
2929.06(B).  Although the crimes Kirkland is alleged to have committed are 
horrific, due process requires that a jury be free from prejudice before 
recommending the death penalty.  Due process, in my view, demands a reversal 
and remand for resentencing. 
____________________ 
O’NEILL, J., dissenting. 
{¶ 198} As a justice and as a citizen, it is truly difficult in this case to 
separate personal outrage from clinical constitutional analysis.  The latter, 
however, is required by my oath of office.  Anthony Kirkland’s actions were 
January Term, 2014 
49 
 
monstrous—he must be punished and society must be vigilantly protected from 
him.  He deserves nothing less than life in prison without possibility of release, 
and the horror of his crimes certainly makes it easy to suggest that death is the 
only fit punishment for him.  But because the death penalty “is inherently both 
cruel and unusual,” State v. Wogenstahl, 134 Ohio St.3d 1437, 2013-Ohio-164, 
981 N.E.2d 900, ¶ 2 (O’Neill, J., dissenting), I cannot accept that easy suggestion.  
And because the majority’s analysis results in a denial of the defendant’s right to 
a fair jury trial, even if I believed that the death penalty could be constitutionally 
imposed, I would still be compelled to dissent in this case. 
{¶ 199} The majority correctly concludes that the state’s closing remarks 
in the penalty phase “were improper and substantially prejudicial.”  Majority 
opinion at ¶ 96.  Compare Carter, Harmless Error in the Penalty Phase of a 
Capital Case: A Doctrine Misunderstood and Misapplied, 28 Ga.L.Rev. 125, 131, 
134 (1993) (discussing harmless, as opposed to prejudicial, error).  But instead of 
reversing the sentence and remanding for a new sentencing hearing, the majority 
holds that our independent evaluation and approval of the capital sentence cured 
the errors in the penalty-phase proceedings.  I disagree.  This court has relied 
upon its independent review to “cure” trial-court penalty-phase deficiencies in 
preparing a written sentencing opinion, State v. Gumm, 73 Ohio St.3d 413, 424, 
653 N.E.2d 253 (1995), allowing improper testimony from a state expert witness, 
State v. Hale, 119 Ohio St.3d 118, 2008-Ohio-3426, 892 N.E.2d 864, ¶ 132, and 
giving erroneous jury instructions, State v. Dixon, 101 Ohio St.3d 328, 2004-
Ohio-1585, 805 N.E.2d 1042, ¶ 84.  Today, it holds that independent review of a 
sentence can also “cure” prejudicial penalty-phase prosecutorial misconduct that 
this court has repeatedly determined to be improper: arguing facts outside the 
record, arguing the subjective experiences of the victim, and arguing that the 
circumstances of the murder are themselves aggravating factors.  That holding, in 
my opinion, undermines the very foundation of the jury system in Ohio.  And it 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
50 
 
does not comport with the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, 
which in this context requires that the facts permitting the imposition of a death 
sentence must be found by a jury. 
{¶ 200} In Clemons v. Mississippi, 494 U.S. 738, 745, 110 S.Ct. 1441, 108 
L.Ed.2d 725 (1990), the United States Supreme Court held that it was permissible 
for the Mississippi Supreme Court to impose a sentence of death based on its 
independent reweighing of aggravating and mitigating circumstances after the 
state court struck down as unconstitutional one of the aggravating factors found 
by the jury.  This court has recognized that Ohio’s system for imposing and 
reviewing death sentences is analogous to the Mississippi system approved in 
Clemons.  See State v. Landrum, 53 Ohio St.3d 107, 124, 559 N.E.2d 710 (1990). 
{¶ 201} But in Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 609, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 
L.Ed.2d 556 (2002), the United States Supreme Court concluded that the Sixth 
Amendment right to a jury trial required that a jury, rather than a judge, find the 
presence of aggravating circumstances necessary for the imposition of the death 
penalty.  The Supreme Court stated that “[t]he right to trial by jury guaranteed by 
the Sixth Amendment would be senselessly diminished if it encompassed the 
factfinding necessary to increase a defendant's sentence by two years, but not the 
factfinding necessary to put him to death.”  Id. 
{¶ 202} When it is applied to this case, Clemons, standing alone, would 
compel the conclusion that this court does not violate the United States 
Constitution by “curing” prejudicial errors in the penalty phase of a death-penalty 
case by independently reviewing the death sentence.  But I simply cannot accept 
the proposition that our independent review somehow comports with the Sixth 
Amendment right to have a jury weigh mitigating and aggravating circumstances.  
In my opinion, Clemons is inconsistent with the United States Supreme Court’s 
pronouncement in Ring, because Clemons rests on a premise—“the Sixth 
Amendment does not require that a jury specify the aggravating factors that 
January Term, 2014 
51 
 
permit the imposition of capital punishment, nor does it require jury sentencing, 
even where the sentence turns on specific findings of fact”—that Ring has shown 
to be faulty.  (Citation omitted.)  Clemons at 746.  As Ring demonstrates, the 
Sixth Amendment requires precisely those things: “enumerated aggravating 
factors operate as ‘the functional equivalent of an element of a greater offense,’ 
[and therefore] the Sixth Amendment requires that they be found by a jury.”  Ring 
at 609, quoting Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 494, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 
L.E.2d 435 (2000), fn. 19.  Moreover, in Alleyne v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, 
133 S.Ct. 2151, 2155, 186 L.Ed.2d 314 (2013), the court concluded that any fact 
that increases the mandatory minimum punishment for a crime “is an ‘element’ 
that must be submitted to the jury and found beyond a reasonable doubt.”  See 
also id. at 2165-2166 (Sotomayor, J., concurring) (demonstrating how Ring 
compels the decision in Alleyne). 
{¶ 203} In short, as one federal judge has observed, “[i]f a defendant has a 
right to have a jury find all the facts that make him eligible for the death penalty, 
he must also have the right to have a jury make the final determination that he 
actually will be sentenced to death.”  Baston v. Bagley, 420 F.3d 632, 639, fn.1 
(6th Cir.2005) (Merritt, J., dissenting) (arguing that “Ring has overruled 
Clemons”).  In light of Apprendi, Ring, and Alleyne, it seems obvious that 
Clemons is bad law that will someday be explicitly overruled.  And given that this 
court has already concluded that the defendant’s penalty-phase hearing was 
unfair, it compounds that unfairness for this court to simply reimpose the death 
penalty instead of remanding the case for a sentencing jury to make that 
determination. 
{¶ 204} I have stated my belief that capital punishment itself is 
unconstitutional; with today’s decision, the court plainly demonstrates that Ohio’s 
system of imposing and reviewing death sentences is unconstitutional as well.  
Accordingly, I dissent. 
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
52 
 
____________________ 
Joseph T. Deters, Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney, and William E. 
Breyer, Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellee. 
Herbert E. Freeman and Bruce K. Hurst, for appellant. 
_________________________