Opinion ID: 2334199
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Blackmail

Text: The evidence plainly supports the blackmail convictions under K.S.A. 21-3428. Brooks does not argue otherwise. He compelled J.P. to act against [her] will and did so by threatening to communicate accusations or statements about [her] that would subject [her] to public ridicule [or] contempt. There is every reason to suppose J.P. correctly perceived that she would be subject to lacerating barbs, withering disdain, or (more likely) both were her adulterous workplace affair to become of the stuff of gossip. To avoid that emotionally crippling prospect, she gave in to Brooks' crude demand. And that adds up to blackmail on Brooks' part. The words of the statute have been cast broadly and surely cover the circumstances of this case. At the same time, we doubt the legislature contemplated circumstances such as these in adopting the statute. The punishment seems to demonstrate as much. Blackmail is a severity level 7 nonperson felony. As felonies go, that is comparatively mild. For a defendant without any significant criminal history, as Brooks, the guidelines punishment would be 11 to 13 months in prison but with a presumption of probation rather than incarceration. As we have said, that seems entirely too lenient when the victim has been coerced to submit to a violation of her bodily integrity and to a particular act that when compelled constitutes nothing less than defilement. For that reason, what happened to J.P. ought not be classified as a nonperson crime. Those crimes carry substantially less weight than person felonies in gauging a recidivist's criminal history for sentencing purposes.