Opinion ID: 2599107
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Issues 7 and 8. The Instruction on Attempted Rape

Text: Kleypas argues that the trial court failed to include an essential element in its instruction on attempted rape. He admits that he failed to object to this instruction or to request a different instruction and, therefore, our review is limited to determining whether the instruction as given was clearly erroneous. Cravatt, 267 Kan. 314, Syl. ¶ 1. K.S.A. 21-3301(a), defining attempt, states: An attempt is any overt act toward the perpetration of a crime done by a person who intends to commit such crime but fails in the perpetration thereof or is prevented or intercepted in executing such crime. (Emphasis added.) The trial court, however, instructed the jury on the crime of attempted rape as follows: If you find the defendant is not guilty of rape, you shall consider if he is guilty of an attempt to commit the crime of rape. To establish this charge, each of the following claims must be proved: 1. That the defendant performed an act toward the commission of the crime of rape; 2. That the defendant did so with the intent to commit the crime of rape; 3. That the defendant failed to complete commission of the crime of rape; 4. That this act occurred on or about the 30th day of March, 1996, in Crawford County, Kansas. (Emphasis added.) Kleypas contends that because the instruction given to the jury did not make it clear that an overt act was required, the jury might have incorrectly relied on mere acts of preparation to satisfy the overt act requirement. We have held that an overt act is an essential element of an attempted crime. State v. Collins, 257 Kan. 408, 418, 893 P.2d 217 (1995); State v. Robinson, 256 Kan. 133, 136, 883 P.2d 764 (1994); State v. Gobin, 216 Kan. 278, 280-82, 531 P.2d 16 (1975). Mere preparation is not sufficient to constitute an overt act. Gobin, 216 Kan. at 281-82. The instruction given by the trial court was taken verbatim from PIK Crim.3d 55.01. We are puzzled as to why the PIK instruction does not use the word overt in keeping with the language of the statute. However, even had the instruction used the word overt, it would not have alleviated the problem of which Kleypas complains. The word overt as used in conjunction with an attempt means: An outward act, however innocent in itself, done in furtherance of a conspiracy, treason, or criminal attempt. Blacks Law Dictionary 1130 (7th ed. 1999). The word overt used in combination with act would be no more definitive or descriptive of what acts a jury would be required to find in any particular case in order to support a conviction than the phrase act towards the commission of a crime. We hold that the language of the instruction which required the jury to find that the defendant performed an act toward the commission of the crime sufficiently instructed the jury with regard to the crime, and the instruction was not clearly erroneous. Nevertheless, in order to further clarify the instruction in the future, we recommend that PIK Crim.3d 55.01 be amended to insert the word overt immediately before the word act and to include a sentence which states: Mere preparation is insufficient to constitute an overt act. Kleypas also contends, with regard to the instruction on attempted rape, that the instruction was clearly erroneous because it failed to specify the overt act which supported the conviction. Kleypas argues that the jury was required to be unanimous on the overt act which supported the attempted rape and the court either should have required the State to elect an overt act or given a unanimity instruction. Again, because Kleypas did not object to the instruction at trial, our review is limited to the determination as to whether the instruction given was clearly erroneous. Cravatt, 267 Kan. 314, Syl. ¶ 1. We have held that in a multiple acts case where several acts are alleged and any one of them could constitute the crime charged, the jury must be unanimous as to which act or incident constitutes the crime. State v. Timley, 255 Kan. 286, 289-90, 875 P.2d 242 (1994). In such a case, either the State must be required to elect the particular criminal act upon which it will rely for conviction or the trial court must instruct the jury that all must agree on the underlying criminal act. 255 Kan. at 289-90. In contrast, in an alternative means case where a single criminal offense may be committed in various ways, there must be unanimity as to guilt on the crime charged, but unanimity is not required as to the means by which the crime was committed. In reviewing an alternative means case, the court must simply determine whether a rational trier of fact could have found each means of committing the crime proved beyond a reasonable doubt. 255 Kan. at 289-90. However, the attempted rape charge at hand presents neither a multiple acts nor an alternative means situation. The possible overt acts need not themselves be illegal or chargeable as criminal offenses and, thus, this is not a multiple acts case. Nor are the overt acts alternative means of committing the offense. Rather, they are acts, however innocent in themselves, which signify and trigger liability for the offense of attempt. As such, there was no requirement that the jury be instructed as to a specific overt act. See State v. Thompson, 3 Kan. App.2d 426, 430, 596 P.2d 174, rev. denied 226 Kan. 793 (1979). Therefore, the instruction given was not clearly erroneous. Issue 9. Failure to Instruct on Simple Battery Kleypas argues that the trial court erred in failing to instruct on simple battery as a lesser included offense of attempted rape. He contends that the evidence adduced at trial to prove attempted rape necessarily proved the offense of simple battery. A trial court has the affirmative duty to instruct the jury on all lesser included offenses established by the evidence. Instructions on a lesser included offense must be given even though the evidence is weak and inconclusive and consists solely of the testimony of the defendant. State v. Ordway, 261 Kan. 776, 784, 934 P.2d 94 (1997). An instruction on an included offense is not proper if from the evidence the jury could not reasonably convict of the lesser offense. State v. Robinson, 261 Kan. 865, 883, 934 P.2d 38 (1997). Based on the law in effect at the time the crime was committed, our analysis of whether simple battery was a lesser included offense of attempted rape is conducted under the rules laid out in State v. Fike, 243 Kan. 365, 757 P.2d 724 (1988). [Fike] provides a two-pronged test for determining if there is a lesser included crime under K.S.A. 21-3107(2)(d). Under the first prong, the statutory elements of the crime charged and the alleged lesser included crime are examined. If all of the statutory elements of the alleged lesser crime will automatically be proved if the State establishes the elements of the charged crime, the alleged lesser crime is an included crime of the greater. 243 Kan. at 368. If no included crime is found under the first prong, there may still be an included crime under the second prong of the test. Under the second prong, the charging document is examined to determine whether the evidence that must be adduced at trial to prove the crime charged would also necessarily prove another crime. If another crime is necessarily proved by proving the charged crime, the former is an included crime. 243 Kan. at 368. Williams, 268 Kan. at 17. Simple battery was not a lesser included offense of attempted rape under the first prong of Fike. See State v. Arnold, 223 Kan. 715, 716-17, 576 P.2d 651 (1978) (holding simple battery not a lesser included offense of attempted rape under the elements test). Further, the State was not required to prove that Kleypas touched C.W. in a rude, insolent, or angry manner in order to prove attempted rape. All that was required was that the State prove some overt act toward the commission of rape. Under these circumstances, simple battery was not a lesser included offense of attempted rape, and the trial court did not err in failing to give such an instruction. Issue 10. Instruction on Voluntary Intoxication Kleypas raises two contentions with regard to the court's instruction on voluntary intoxication. First, he argues that the instruction changed voluntary intoxication into an affirmative defense thereby improperly placing the burden upon Kleypas. Second, he contends that the instruction prohibited the jury from aggregating intoxication with other evidence of his mental disorder, which also affected his capacity to form the necessary intent. As we have previously stated, our standard of review for these claims based upon Kleypas' objection to the instruction given is well established: When reviewing challenges to jury instructions, the instructions are to be considered together and read as a whole without isolating any one instruction. If the instructions properly and fairly state the law as applied to the facts in the case, and if the jury could not reasonably have been misled by them, then the instructions do not constitute reversible error although they may be in some small way erroneous. Aikins, 261 Kan. 346, Syl. ¶ 25. Kleypas requested the following instruction, which tracked with the provisions of K.S.A. 21-3208(2): An act committed while in a state of voluntary intoxication is not less criminal by reason thereof, but when a particular intent or other state of mind is a necessary element to constitute a particular crime, the fact of intoxication may be taken into consideration in determining such intent or state of mind. The trial court rejected Kleypas' request and instructed the jury as follows in accordance with PIK Crim.3d 54.12-A: Voluntary intoxication may be a defense to the charge of Capital Murder, Premeditated First-Degree Murder, Second-Degree Murder, Attempted Rape, and the Aggravated Burglary allegedly occurring on March 30, 1996, where the evidence indicates that such intoxication impaired a defendant's mental faculties to the extent that he was incapable of forming the necessary intent to kill as required in the Capital Murder, Premeditated First-Degree Murder, and Second-Degree Murder charges; and the necessary intent to commit a theft as required in the Aggravated Burglary charge, and the intent to commit rape as required in the Attempted Rape charge. In support of his first argument that the PIK instruction given changed voluntary intoxication to an affirmative defense, Kleypas relies upon our decision in State v. Ludlow, 256 Kan. 139, 883 P.2d 1144 (1994). According to Kleypas, we recognized in Ludlow that PIK Crim.3d 54.12-A was a significant departure from the statutory language regarding voluntary intoxication in K.S.A. 21-3208(2), thus casting voluntary intoxication as an affirmative defense. This argument misinterprets our holding in Ludlow. The issue in Ludlow involved the PIK instruction's omission of or other state of mind where K.S.A. 21-3208(2) states that voluntary intoxication may be considered when a particular intent or other state of mind is a necessary element to constitute a particular crime. Ludlow complained that premeditation was an other state of mind. We agreed with Ludlow and held that the district court's use of PIK Crim.3d 54.12-A which departed from the statutory language by omitting the phrase or other state of mind was error where the defendant is charged with premeditated murder. 256 Kan. at 147. In tracking the change in the PIK instruction to determine when the removal of or other state of mind occurred, Ludlow referenced the pattern instruction approved in State v. Beebe, 244 Kan. 48, 60-61, 766 P.2d 158 (1988), noting that the most obvious change [in the voluntary intoxication instruction] is in the lead-in declarationvoluntary intoxication changes from not being a defense to possibly being a defense. 256 Kan. at 145. Ludlow did not state that this was error or that the language suggested by the defendant changed voluntary intoxication to an affirmative defense. In addition to Instruction No. 12 on voluntary intoxication, the trial court instructed the jury in Instruction No. 13 that voluntary intoxication may be a defense to the extent Kleypas was incapable of forming the necessary state of mind of premeditation, following Ludlow. As part of Instruction No. 2, the trial court instructed: The State has the burden to prove the defendant is guilty. The defendant is not required to prove he is not guilty. You must presume that he is not guilty until you are convinced from the evidence that he is guilty. Instruction No. 8 again placed the burden of proof on the State: The State has the burden to prove the defendant is guilty. The defendant is not required to prove he is not guilty. You must presume that he is not guilty until you are convinced from the evidence that he is guilty. The test you must use in determining whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty is this: If you have a reasonable doubt as to the truth of any of the claims made by the State, you must find the defendant not guilty. If you have no reasonable doubt as to the truth of any of the claims made by the State, you should find the defendant guilty. In Ludlow, this court read the voluntary intoxication instruction together with another instruction which stated that the State bore the burden of proving `the required criminal intent of the defendant' and that `[t]his burden never shifts to the defendant,' and found that the instructions properly advised the jury that voluntary intoxication may be a defense if the evidence indicates that it rendered Ludlow incapable of forming the necessary intent, that the State had the burden of proving intent, and that Ludlow does not have a burden for showing lack of intent. 256 Kan. at 150. In the case at hand, the instructions, read together, properly advised the jury that the State bore the burden to prove intent, and the instructions did not relieve the State of this burden or make voluntary intoxication an affirmative defense. We also note that the trial court avoided the major problem in Ludlow by giving a separate instruction on voluntary intoxication specifically referencing other state of mind and premeditation. Kleypas' first contention fails. Kleypas' second contention regarding the voluntary intoxication instruction is that the instruction prevented the jury from using the voluntary intoxication evidence unless it found that it alone negated premeditation or intent. He claims that the United States Supreme Court in Martin v. Ohio, 480 U.S. 228, 233-34, 94 L. Ed.2d 267, 107 S. Ct. 1098 (1987), recognizes that defendants must be permitted to combine different kinds of evidence to negate specific intent for charged crimes. He argues that the instruction given prohibited the jury from considering intoxication for any purpose unless Kleypas established the affirmative defense by a preponderance of evidence. According to Kleypas, because the jury in his case was precluded from considering evidence of voluntary intoxication unless that evidence alone negated specific intent, the instruction ran afoul of both K.S.A. 21-3208 and the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution. Martin does not support this contention of Kleypas. The defendant in Martin was charged with aggravated murder. Ohio law placed the burden of proving the elements of a criminal offense upon the prosecution but placed on the accused the burden of proving an affirmative defense by a preponderance of the evidence. Self-defense was an affirmative defense under Ohio law and therefore had to be proved by the defendant. The defendant was convicted and in his appeal to the Supreme Court he claimed that his conviction violated the Due Process Clause because of the burden placed upon him to prove self-defense. The Court disagreed and held that the State did not exceed its authority in defining the crime of murder as purposely causing the death of another with prior calculation or design. It did not seek to shift to Martin the burden of proving any of those elements. The Court noted that it would be quite different if the jury had been instructed that self-defense evidence could not be considered in determining whether there was a reasonable doubt about the State's case, i.e., that self-defense evidence must be put aside for all purposes unless it satisfied the preponderance standard. The Court held that such an instruction would relieve the State of its burden and plainly run afoul of the mandate in In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 364, 25 L. Ed.2d 368, 90 S. Ct. 1068 (1970), requiring the State to prove all of the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. 480 U.S. at 233-34. In our case, contrary to Kleypas' assertion, the instruction on voluntary intoxication did not limit the jury's consideration of Kleypas' state of intoxication nor did it limit consideration of any other evidence offered as to mental illness, prior drug use, or brain damage in determining whether the State proved the elements of the crime. The instruction only provided the jury with the standard it must consider in evaluating evidence regarding Kleypas' voluntary intoxication. We have concluded above that the instructions read as a whole placed the burden of proving all elements of the crimes charged upon the State. As in Martin, the instructions, read as a whole, ... are adequate to convey to the jury that all of the evidence, including the evidence going to self-defense, must be considered in deciding whether there was a reasonable doubt about the sufficiency of the State's proof of the elements of the crime. 480 U.S. at 234. The instruction given on voluntary intoxication in this case properly and fairly stated the law as applied to the facts. Kleypas was not prevented from presenting evidence regarding other factors bearing upon his ability to form specific intent. The burden of proving all essential elements of the crimes charged never shifted to Kleypas. We conclude that Kleypas' contention is without merit and the jury could not reasonably have been misled by the court's instruction on intoxication. Issue 11. Instruction Regarding State's Failure to Timely Notify Kleypas of Change in Testimony This issue involves a statement made by one of the officers while driving Kleypas back to Kansas after Kleypas had waived extradition. As noted in our analysis concerning the admissibility of Kleypas' confession, during a pretrial suppression hearing, before the taperecording of the conversation was enhanced, both officers believed that the statement Are we going to have to get out and walk? was made by Detective Hite. Prior to trial, KBI Agent Williams listened to an enhancement of the audiotape and realized that it was he who had made the statement. The State, however, did not notify the court of this change or notify Kleypas as required by law. Based upon the State's failure to do so, the court instructed the jury that it could consider this failure in the following instruction: The State's failure to timely notify the defendant when Agent Tom Williams concluded he was the person who stated on the tape `are we going to have to get out and walk?' may be considered by you in determining what weight to give to his testimony. Kleypas requested that the above instruction also refer to the weight the jury could give to Detective Hite's testimony because Hite had also modified his testimony. The trial court rejected the request, stating that it was Agent Williams who had realized he had made the statement but was not forthcoming with the information, not Hite. We agree with the trial court. The record demonstrates that while both Agent Williams and Detective Hite after listening to the enhanced taperecording agreed that the recorded statement was that of Agent Williams; Hite did not change his statement at trial. He explained that he believed he had made a similar statement on the trip back to Kansas. Our standard of review is whether the instruction given without the additional language requested by the defendant properly and fairly stated the law as applied to the facts of the case and whether it reasonably could have misled the jury. See State v. Carr, 265 Kan. 608, 617, 963 P.2d 421 (1998). We have no hesitancy in concluding that the instruction given met the above standard. We emphasize that the court properly placed the duty on the State to notify both the court and Kleypas of a change in testimony. The credibility of both officers was thoroughly explored by Kleypas at trial, and the trial court's instruction was consistent with the evidence that Agent Williams, not Detective Hite, changed his testimony. Issue 12. Whether K.S.A. 21-3439(a)(4) Makes a Killing Occurring During an Attempted Rape Subject to the Death Penalty Kleypas was convicted of capital murder based on the intentional and premeditated killing of the victim in the commission of the crime of attempted rape. He argues, however, that a correct interpretation of K.S.A. 21-3439(a)(4) precludes attempted rape as a predicate for capital murder. We find no merit in his claim. K.S.A. 21-3439(a)(4) defines the offense of capital murder as: Intentional and premeditated killing of the victim of one of the following crimes in the commission of, or subsequent to, such crime: Rape, as defined in K.S.A. 21-3502 and amendments thereto, criminal sodomy, as defined in subsections (a)(2) or (a)(3) of K.S.A. 21-3505 and amendments thereto or aggravated criminal sodomy, as defined in K.S.A. 21-3506 and amendments thereto, or any attempt thereof, as defined in K.S.A. 21-3301 and amendments thereto. (Emphasis added.) Kleypas' argument is that the statutory language or any attempt thereof refers to aggravated criminal sodomy and not an attempted rape or criminal sodomy. The interpretation of a statute is a question of law, and this court's review is unlimited. State v. Lewis, 263 Kan. 843, 847, 953 P.2d 1016 (1998). The fundamental rule of statutory construction guiding this court's determination is that the intent of the legislature governs when that intent can be ascertained from the statute. When a statute is plain and unambiguous, we must give it the effect intended by the legislature rather than determine what the law should or should not be. State v. Taylor, 262 Kan. 471, 478, 939 P.2d 904 (1997). The plain and unambiguous language of the statute demonstrates that or any attempt thereof relates to all crimes specified in the same sentence. Nevertheless, Kleypas moves beyond the plain language of the statute, suggesting that ambiguity arises by reason of testimony given by the attorney general during the adoption of the death penalty in Kansas. Kleypas points out that the Virginia death penalty statute which provided a general pattern for Kansas uses the following language: The willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of any person in the commission of, or subsequent to, rape or attempted rape, forcible sodomy or attempted forcible sodomy or object sexual penetration. Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-31(5) (Michie 1996). Kleypas argues that when the Kansas Legislature passed the death penalty statute, it modified an earlier proposed version of the statute that would have explicitly made it clear that a killing during attempted rape was a capital offense, as in the Virginia model. In doing so, Kleypas contends, the legislature created an ambiguity in the final version. According to Kleypas, by application of the last antecedent rule, the legislature intended that or any attempt thereof modify only the immediately preceding phrase aggravated criminal sodomy and not any other crimes mentioned before. See Taylor v. Perdition Minerals Group, Ltd., 244 Kan. 126, 133-34, 766 P.2d 805 (1988) (explaining last antecedent rule). He also invokes the rule of lenity, which provides that any reasonable doubt about the meaning of criminal statutes is to be decided in favor of the accused. See State v. Vega-Fuentes, 264 Kan. 10, 14, 955 P.2d 1235 (1998). We need not dwell on the above arguments. The last antecedent rule is merely an aid to construction. It may not be employed to reach a certain result where the language of the statute is plain and unambiguous. See Link, Inc. v. City of Hays, 266 Kan. 648, 654, 972 P.2d 753 (1999). Similarly, while the rule of lenity is the general rule in construing criminal statutes, it too is subordinate to the rule that judicial interpretation must effect legislative design and intent. Vega-Fuentes, 264 Kan. 10, Syl. ¶ 3. The capital-murder statute in Kansas narrowly defines the class eligible for the death penalty in plain and unambiguous language. To adopt the interpretation advanced by Kleypas would distort the statute, resulting in absurdity. In 1994, when the capital-murder statute became law, rape and aggravated sodomy were considered equally severe as shown by their classification as severity level 2 crimes. In 1996, the offense of rape as described in K.S.A. 21-3502(a)(1) and (a)(2) became a severity level 1 crime. There is no logical reason the legislature would intend the intentional and premeditated killing of the victim during the commission of an attempted aggravated sodomy to be a capital offense but the equally severe and now more severe crime of attempted rape would not be a capital offense. Finally, the failure of our legislature to adopt an earlier version of a proposed law or the wording of the Virginia statute becomes significant only in case of an ambiguous final version. We, therefore, hold that the phrase or any attempt thereof modifies all the offenses contained in K.S.A. 21-3439(a)(4) and, thus, makes the intentional and premeditated killing of the victim during the commission of, or subsequent to, an attempted rape a capital murder. Issue 13. Prosecutorial Misconduct in the Guilt Phase Kleypas contends that prosecutorial misconduct during opening and closing statements and the prosecutor's conduct during trial and in discovery denied him a fair trial. He argues that the conduct was so egregious as to warrant the reversal of his convictions and a new trial. Prior to a discussion of the specific errors alleged by Kleypas, some general discussion with regard to this court's handling of prosecutorial misconduct is appropriate. The first preliminary matter to be addressed concerns the necessity of a contemporaneous objection. While many of the allegedly improper remarks made by the State during closing argument were objected to by Kleypas, others were not. Reversible error normally cannot be predicated upon a complaint of misconduct by the prosecutor during closing argument where no contemporaneous objection is lodged. However, if the prosecutor's statements rise to the level of violating a defendant's right to a fair trial and deny a defendant his or her Fourteenth Amendment right to due process, reversible error occurs despite the lack of a contemporaneous objection. State v. McCorkendale, 267 Kan. 263, 278, 979 P.2d 1239 (1999). In addition, K.S.A. 21-4627(b) directs that this court shall consider the question of sentence as well as any errors asserted in the review and appeal and shall be authorized to notice unassigned errors appearing of record if the ends of justice would be served thereby. In State v. Collier, 259 Kan. 346, 353, 913 P.2d 597 (1996), we held that the same language in the pre-1994 hard 40 sentencing statute authorized this court to consider a defendant's claim of prosecutorial misconduct even though he had failed to object to the remarks at trial. See State v. White, 263 Kan. 283, 305-306, 950 P.2d 1316 (1997). Thus, pursuant to K.S.A. 21-4627(b), this court will consider Kleypas' claims of prosecutorial misconduct whether or not objected to at trial. An appellate court's analysis of the effect of a prosecutor's allegedly improper remarks in closing argument is a two-step process: First, the appellate court must determine whether the remarks were outside the considerable latitude the prosecutor is allowed in discussing the evidence. Second, the appellate court must determine whether the remarks constituted plain error, that is, whether they were so gross and flagrant as to prejudice the jury against the accused and deny him or her a fair trial. In order to find that the remarks were not so gross or flagrant, this court must be able to find that when viewed in light of the record as a whole, the error had little, if any, likelihood of changing the result of the trial. McCorkendale, 267 Kan. at 278-79. Factors relevant in determining whether a new trial should be granted for prosecutorial misconduct include: (1) Whether the misconduct is so gross and flagrant as to deny the accused a fair trial, (2) whether the remarks show ill will on the part of the prosecutor, and (3) whether the evidence against the accused is of such a direct and overwhelming nature that it can be said that the prejudicial remarks of the prosecutor were likely to have little weight in the minds of the jurors. State v. Foster, 259 Kan. 198, 204, 910 P.2d 848 (1996). In determining whether a prosecutor's remark was improper, it should be noted: It is the duty of a prosecutor in a criminal matter to see that the State's case is properly presented with earnestness and vigor and to use every legitimate means to bring about a just conviction, but he should always bear in mind that he is an officer of the court and, as such, occupies a quasi-judicial position whose sanctions and traditions he should preserve. [Citation omitted.] State v. Ruff, 252 Kan. 625, 634, 847 P.2d 1258 (1993). A prosecutor has a duty to refrain from making improper, misleading, inflammatory, or irrelevant statements to the jury. See Berger v. United States, 295 U.S. 78, 84-88, 79 L. Ed. 1314, 55 S. Ct. 629 (1935). This duty is heightened in capital cases. See Lesko v. Lehman, 925 F.2d 1527, 1541 (3d Cir. 1991). See also California v. Ramos, 463 U.S. 992, 998-99, 77 L. Ed.2d 1171, 103 S. Ct. 3446 (1983) (stating that the qualitative difference of death from all other punishments requires a correspondingly greater degree of scrutiny of the capital sentencing determination). With these standards securely in mind, we turn to the specific arguments raised by Kleypas. Kleypas alleges that the State improperly attempted to hinder discovery and identifies comments of the prosecutor during opening statement, closing argument, and at trial which he claims were improper and prejudicial.
Kleypas argues the State's actions in persistently hindering defense discovery must be considered in addressing the pattern of misconduct and bad faith on the part of the State. He incorporates his arguments on the State's failure to correct KBI Agent Williams' testimony regarding the Are we going to have to get out and walk? statement and the failure to inform the FBI of the trial court's order to not consume all DNA material needlessly. He adds to this another alleged failure on the part of the State to timely disclose evidence relating to the officer at the elbow question. During the car ride from Springfield to Girard, Kleypas was asked if he would have committed the crime if a police officer had been present. Kleypas replied he thought it would not have mattered when he gets like that. Kleypas appears to suggest there was some sort of purposeful omission of this statement in Agent Williams' and Detective Hite's reports. The events surrounding this question, Agent Williams' and Detective Hite's failures to report the comment, and how the information came to light occurred as follows: On April 5, 1996, 3 days after the car ride in which the comment was made, defense counsel filed a motion to preserve police communications and request for discovery. The trial court granted the motion to preserve communications. Approximately 1 year later, on March 5, 1997, defense counsel filed a motion to call prosecutor Barry Disney as a witness to ask him about a comment that he made in a taped telephone conversation to a member of the attorney general's office. During the conversation, Disney had relayed Kleypas' answer to the officer at the elbow question and stated that neither Agent Williams nor Detective Hite had provided this information in his report or acknowledged such a statement in his testimony. In its response to this motion, the State noted that the tape of the telephone conversation had been listened to by a defense investigator on April 29, 1996, but defense counsel had never questioned Hite as to the statement. At a hearing on the motion, the defense counsel examined Hite and asked if Hite recalled asking Kleypas if he would have committed the crime had an officer been standing next to him. Hite stated that Kleypas didn't really give me a yes or no answer. Hite also indicated that Disney requested that he ask the question. In response to a question, Hite agreed that he had not included this question and answer in his report. Agent Williams also agreed, in response to a defense question, that he had not written down this particular question and answer. Kleypas admits this evidence became available to the defense well before trial but claims the State's failure to disclose this exculpatory statement under both K.S.A. 22-3212(a)(4) and Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 10 L. Ed.2d 215, 83 S. Ct. 1194 (1963), demonstrates a bad-faith attempt to obstruct the defense. According to Kleypas, as the State does not contest that the statement was exculpatory in nature, the State's duty to disclose was triggered. Furthermore, Kleypas claims Hite's failure to include Kleypas' response to this question could not have been inadvertent given the fact that the matter was deemed so important that he was specifically directed by Disney to ask Kleypas the question. Kleypas' contention that nondisclosure of the statement was purposeful is wholly without support. The fact that Disney may have asked Detective Hite to ask Kleypas this question does not suggest that Hite gave it any significance nor should he have. There is no evidence the State purposefully hindered discovery by failing to notify the defense that Agent Williams realized he had made the, Are we going to have to get out and walk? statement, by failing to inform the FBI to conserve DNA material if at all possible, or by failing to report Kleypas' response to the question of whether he would have committed the crime had an officer been present at the scene. While it is clear that the State should have notified the defense counsel of these statements and should have informed the FBI of the court's ruling regarding DNA testing, the misconduct here was not so gross and flagrant as to deny Kleypas a fair trial.
The State initiated opening statements by saying: If it please the Court, opposing counsel and ladies and gentlemen of the jury. [C.W.] was a bright, lively young woman just twenty-one years old. In March of 1996 she was a junior at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas. She was engaged to be married to [M.F.]. She was interested in tennis, in fashion merchandising, her major, and helping other people and in planning her wedding. The defense counsel approached the bench to object, stating: Your Honor, all of this is irrelevant. [C.W.'s] activities ... are irrelevant to the jury. It has nothing to do with the evidence. He's making an argument at this time which is not the purpose of opening statement and none of that is relevant, none of it is going to be put on as evidence, there is no purpose for it at all so I'm objecting to that whole line of argument because that is what it is. He's not going to be allowed to put on evidence that says she was a wonderful person, she was a buoyant person, she played tennis, she played this or that. All of that is irrelevant. The State responded: Your Honor, we are not going to dwell on that but we have a right to at least show who she was. I've got just a couple of questions about what she was interested in, what sort of things did she do and we aren't dwelling on that, it is not the central part of the case but it is something we will produce evidence on and it is perfectly proper. The trial court overruled the objection but ordered the State to move along. Prior to trial, Kleypas had filed a motion to bar victim impact statements during the penalty phase of the trial. The motion sought to exclude, among other things, any evidence regarding the deceased's life plans at the time of her death. The trial court granted the motion. Kleypas contends that since the jury was instructed during the penalty phase that it could consider all evidence presented during the guilt phase, the State was prohibited from presenting any victim impact evidence at any point in the bifurcated proceedings. Kleypas contends the State's opening comments demonstrate bad faith. Further, even if this court concludes this is not error in and of itself, Kleypas argues, this court should consider it as part of the overall pattern of prosecutorial misconduct which he claims permeated this case. Kleypas contends the State was bound by its acquiescence in the motion to bar victim impact evidence during the penalty phase to not argue such evidence during the guilt phase. The basis of this argument apparently is the prejudicial impact since the jury was the same for both phases, i.e., what is improper in one phase must necessarily be improper in the other. This same concept, except in reverse, was discussed in Justice Souter's concurring opinion in Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808, 841, 115 L. Ed.2d 720, 111 S. Ct. 2597 (1991). Payne reversed the decisions in Booth v. Maryland, 482 U.S. 496, 96 L. Ed.2d 440, 107 St. Ct. 2529 (1987), and South Carolina v. Gathers, 490 U.S. 805, 104 L. Ed.2d 876, 109 S. Ct. 2207 (1989), which had held the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution bars the admission of victim impact evidence during the penalty phase of a capital trial. Payne held that such evidence was not per se precluded by the Eighth Amendment. 501 U.S. at 825, 827. In the event that evidence is introduced that is so unduly prejudicial that it renders the trial fundamentally unfair, the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides a mechanism for relief. 501 U.S. at 825. In its analysis, the United States Supreme Court noted that in many cases evidence relating to the victim is already before the jury because of its relevance at the guilt phase of the trial. 501 U.S. at 823. Justice Souter commented: Booth thus raises a dilemma with very practical consequences. If we were to require the rules of guilt-phase evidence to be changed to guarantee the full effect of Booth's promise to exclude consideration of specific facts unknown to the defendant and thus supposedly without significance in morally evaluating his decision to kill, we would seriously reduce the comprehensibility of most trials by depriving jurors of those details of context that allow them to understand what is being described. If, on the other hand, we are to leave the rules of trial evidence alone, Booth's objective will not be attained without requiring a separate sentencing jury to be empaneled. This would be a major imposition on the States, however, and I suppose that no one would seriously consider adding such a further requirement. 501 U.S. at 841 (Souter, J., concurring). Imposing constraints on the State in the guilt phase because it agreed to a motion concerning the penalty phase would present an unexpected trap for the State. Though the State may have acquiesced in Kleypas' motion to bar victim impact evidence during the penalty phase, it did not do so for the guilt phase of the trial. It should be noted that Kleypas does not argue that his motion in limine to prohibit improper arguments during first and second stage trial prohibited the prosecutor's opening statement here. The trial court did not sustain this motion; instead, the court stated it would consider improper arguments on a case-by-case basis. Opening statements by counsel in criminal prosecutions are not evidence. They are given for the purposes of assisting the jury in understanding what each side expects its evidence at trial will establish and to advise the jury what questions will be presented for its decision. The tendency is to permit a prosecuting and defense attorney reasonable latitude in stating to the jury the facts they propose to prove. McCorkendale, 267 Kan. 263, Syl. ¶ 4. The prosecutor's opening statements were within the reasonable latitude in stating facts or reasonable inferences from facts which the State would prove during the trial. It would be unreasonable to expect the State to refer to the victim in any case without some qualifiers concerning who this individual was in life. The absence of any characteristics of the victim would be artificial. There necessarily must be some reference to who the victim was and his or her relevance in the context of the time and place of the homicide. The prosecutor's comments here were not error.
During defense counsel Wood's cross-examination of KBI Agent Williams concerning a memorandum on interrogation techniques, the following exchange occurred: Q. And you've already testified that Stu Hite read Miranda rights to Mr. Kleypas? A. Yes, sir. Q. Okay. Then it goes on Mr. BORK [Prosecutor]: Your Honor, I'm going to object to this line of questioning because this gets into dealing with whether it is a free and voluntary confession which the Court has already ruled upon. Mr. WOOD: Judge, I object to that statement. That is improper under Crane v. Kentucky . (Emphasis added.) Following the objections, a heated argument occurred at the bench. Wood requested a mistrial, which the court took under advisement. The trial court agreed with prosecutor Bork that the defense counsel could not discuss the legal requirements concerning admissibility of a confession but agreed with Wood that he could raise questions concerning the circumstances surrounding the confession. The trial court instructed the jury: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you are to disregard Mr. Bork's comments in his last objection. You as the jury have the right to consider all the surrounding circumstances of the defendant's statement and you may give what weight you desire to those surrounding circumstances. Kleypas correctly argues that his counsel had a right to litigate issues surrounding the voluntariness and reliability of Kleypas' confession under Crane v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 683, 90 L. Ed.2d 636, 106 S. Ct. 2142 (1986), and K.S.A. 22-3215(5). He further argues that it is inconceivable that the prosecution was unaware of the law and that this incident must be considered as evidence of the prosecutor's ill will in addressing the overall pattern of misconduct. The trial court in addressing the motion for mistrial, stated: So we start with the premise the defendant is completely entitled to present the surrounding circumstances of the confession to the jury. That is an undeniable. I told you that when you came up to the bench for the side bar, ... that is what the Court allowed, I didn't restrict the defendant in giving this information to the jury, the defendant was entitled to fully explore the surrounding circumstances that attend the statement in issue. Indeed the Court instructed the jury to that very effect. Now, I don't think the jury has been prevented from considering the surrounding circumstances. They have been advised that they can give the appropriate weight to the surrounding circumstances that they deem appropriate. I believe they will and I believe they can do this. I believe that Mr. Bork's comments did not convey to the jury that they are precluded from doing this. So the request for mistrial will be denied. Our review of the heated exchange between counsel and the record involving this claim does not support a finding of ill will on the part of the prosecutor. While the objection by the prosecutor may have been improper, defense counsel was able to fully litigate the issue of the weight and credibility the jury should give Kleypas' confession and the jurors were clearly informed that it was within their province as fact finders to make that determination. Finally, the jury was instructed by the court to disregard the comments of the prosecutor. Under these circumstances, no prejudicial error occurred.
Kleypas contends that during closing arguments, prosecutor Bork launched a personal attack on defense counsel Wood, referred to matters not in evidence, and claimed defense counsel thought Kleypas was guilty of some offense. Kleypas argues that at least seven incidents of misconduct occurred during closing arguments and that this constituted a denial of his right to a fair trial. 1. Upon completion of the State's direct examination of Robin, the roommate of the victim, defense counsel asked for the police report containing her statement. Twice the prosecution denied having the report. At the beginning of the cross-examination, however, the witness stated that she had discussed the report with prosecutors. At this time, the prosecutor found the report and gave it to defense counsel, who then completed his cross-examination. Outside the presence of the jury, defense counsel asked the court that it be made known that the prosecution had misrepresented the State when it denied having the report. The trial court refused, noting it saw no purposeful concealment considering the amount of documents in the case. In closing argument, defense counsel commented upon the witness' revelation that she had discussed the report with the prosecutors and stated only at this point do you see the hand going down to the briefcase. The State objected, stating: That is not in evidence. That is Mr. Wood's fantasy. The trial court sustained the objection. Thereafter, Wood continued his argument without objection by stating: You decide what you saw. I guess I've fantasized a materialization of that report into the hands of my cocounsel for the very first time here in the courtroom. I guess you all fantasized that too. Kleypas argues that the prosecutor's use of the word fantasy implied that Wood was lying and attempting to fabricate a claim of misconduct. According to Kleypas, the trial court gave credence to this attack and impaired Wood's credibility in front of the jury by sustaining the objection. In support of this contention, Kleypas cites State v. Lockhart, 24 Kan. App.2d 488, 947 P.2d 461, rev. denied 263 Kan. 889 (1997). In Lockhart, the Court of Appeals found that prosecutorial misconduct which included calling defense counsel a liar necessitated a new trial. 24 Kan. App.2d at 491-92. In the case at hand, the prosecutor's use of the word fantasy was in response to the argument advanced by Kleypas that the State purposefully concealed the police report until that concealment was discovered. Defense counsel also used the same term arguing effectively to the jury: I guess you all fantasized that too. Moreover, the entire transaction between the parties was played out before the jury. The circumstances in Lockhart bear no similarity to this case. Under the circumstances of this case, we conclude that prosecutorial misconduct did not occur. 2. The second alleged attack occurred during the State's rebuttal when prosecutor Bork argued during closing that he was used to a defense attorney's accusations that he was hiding the facts or doing something unethical because that is an old tactic. Wood objected, stating, I object, Your Honor, I have never accused Mr. Bork of that. It is not an old tactic with me. I object to that. The trial judge stated, I don't believe he was referencing you. Bork continued: Doesn't want to talk about the facts of this case, would rather talk about counsel and I don't blame him for that. It doesn't particularly endear him to me, it doesn't make me like him a lot but I don't blame him for that. Because there is not a lot of case for them to talk about here. Woods objected: Judge, again how Mr. Bork feels about me personally is improper. I ask that the jury be admonished that doesn't matter. The trial court sustained the objection and told the jury to disregard Bork's comment. Kleypas complains that by overruling Wood's objection to the old tactic comment, the trial court implied wrongful conduct and gave credence to Bork's implication that defense counsel was attempting to mislead the jury. Kleypas admits the proceedings were highly acrimonious; however, there was no justification for expressions of personal feelings. While we acknowledge that it was error for the prosecutor to express his personal feelings regarding defense counsel or what defense counsel may have thought of him, we note that the trial court sustained the objection and admonished the jury to disregard the statements. Even without this, we conclude that the entire exchange does not amount to misconduct so gross and flagrant as to deny Kleypas a fair trial. 3. In the third instance of alleged prosecutorial misconduct during closing arguments, prosecutor Bork stated: He made sure she was alone and he shaved his pubic hairs. Remember Dr. Mitchell and Dave Schroeder talking about trace evidence on the body and how you might be able to determine who had left the hairs there. The defendant couldn't have left any pubic hairs, his pubic hairs were shaved in preparation for this. Defense counsel Moots objected that this was a misstatement when there was no evidence as to when Kleypas shaved his pubic hair. The trial court overruled the objection. Bork then stated: What other purpose could the defendant have had in mind. Kleypas contends there was no evidence of any subjective reason for removal of his pubic hair, and no evidence whether he did so on a regular basis. He suggests that when the trial court overruled the defense counsel's objection it gave the jury the impression that Bork's statement was accurate and added support to the State's theory of premeditation. The comments of the prosecutor were not error. In closing argument, the prosecutor may draw reasonable inferences from the evidence but may not comment upon facts outside the evidence. State v. Pabst, 268 Kan. 501, 507, 996 P.2d 321 (2000); State v. McCray, 267 Kan. 339, 351, 979 P.2d 134 (1999). Based on the evidence in the record, it was reasonable to infer that Kleypas shaved his pubic hair in preparation for a sexual assault on C.W. 4. Kleypas next objects to what he called the State's mischaracterization of the defense counsel's letter to Dr. J.D. Dix, a pathologist and medical examiner from Missouri. Bork stated: When you discuss Dr. Dix's testimony, remember the reason why he was here. The defense wrote him and said we need someone to challenge Dr. Mitchell's testimony about penetration. Kleypas objected on the grounds that this was a mischaracterization of the letter, but the objection was overruled. Kleypas contends what was actually stated in the letter was: What we are interested in is any way to challenge Dr. Mitchell's conclusion regarding the anal sodomy. Kleypas was acquitted of aggravated criminal sodomy. Nonetheless, Kleypas suggests the attack was pertinent in addressing the pattern of bad faith demonstrated by the State. Dr. Dix admitted on the stand that the defense wanted a way to challenge Dr. Mitchell's testimony. The comment complained of was fair interpretation of the letter and unquestionably did not influence or prejudice the jury because Kleypas was acquitted of aggravated criminal sodomy. 5. Kleypas argues that further instances of ill will were shown when the State, in closing argument, violated the trial court's order in limine to avoid reference to C.W.'s personal characteristics. Prosecutor Bork stated: [C.W.] was a young woman twenty years old. She had a wonderful life. While acknowledging that the trial court sustained Kleypas' objection and told the jury to disregard the comment, Kleypas suggests this was a continuing disregard for his right to a fair trial. We doubt whether the statement She had a wonderful life violated the trial court's order in limine. While the trial court's order related to the victim's personal characteristics, the phrase complained of is so general and ambiguous that it can hardly be said to be a reference to C.W.'s personal characteristics or a violation of the motion in limine. The fact that she was young and 20 years old was in the evidence and did not provide the jury with any information it did not already have. Even if it can be considered a violation, the statement was so brief and limited as to be of no prejudicial effect and hardly stands as an example of ill will on the part of the State. 6. Another example of ill will occurred, according to Kleypas, when prosecutor Bork was discussing KBI Agent Williams' realization that it was his voice on the audiotape making the statement: Are we going to have to get out and walk? Bork said: If there is any fault in the fact that this information didn't get to the Judge, then it is my fault. The trial court sustained an objection but refused to give a curative instruction. Kleypas argues Bork's attempt to place the blame solely on himself was improper because it implicitly informed the jury it could disregard Instruction No. 10, which notified the jury it could consider the failure to notify in determining what weight to give Agent Williams' testimony, and also by implicitly vouching for Agent Williams' credibility. The alleged reference to Instruction No. 10 occurred when Bork stated: As the Judge told you, the state should have brought that to the attention of Court and opposing counsel, I didn't do that. We conclude that the statement was not prosecutorial misconduct. While the statement could be viewed as an attempt to deflect fault from Agent Williams, Instruction No. 10 as worded did not place the responsibility on either Bork or Agent Williams but rather on the State. 7. Finally, Kleypas complains of the State's comments toward the end of closing argument when Bork said: Opposing counsel has talked about the life or death of his client. Now is not the time to determine that. Now your duty is to determine whether or not his client is guilty. And he says that his client is guilty of something. It is just not capital murder. The trial court sustained defense counsel's objection. The trial court was not asked to admonish the jury, nor did it do so sua sponte. After searching the record, we could find only two instances where defense counsel Wood made reference to lesser offenses. During his explanation of the lesser included murder instructions to the jury, Wood stated: And I'm going to tell you right now, I'm asking youI'm asking you toI'm telling you it is the right thing to do under the law, under the facts, under the situation to not give Mr. Kleypas capital murder, to not convict him of capital murder. Beyond that, it is up to your wisdom. It is up to your wisdom based upon what you have heard and seen what to do. I'm going to trust in you. We are going to trust in you to look at that beyond that and do what is appropriate. In his same argument at a later point, Wood stated: [B]ut you know enough at this point, you know enough that you can't convict Mr. Kleypas of capital murder. The rest is in your hands. That it is all in your hands. It is apparent that the defense counsel's tactic in closing argument was to urge the jury not to convict Kleypas of capital murder. Although Wood's statements could be perceived as reflecting an opinion that Kleypas was guilty of some lesser crime of murder, Bork's reference to Wood's opinion, whether express or inferred, was improper. In McCray, 267 Kan. at 347, we held that error is committed when the prosecutor injects his or her personal opinion. Moreover, [c]ourts generally, although not uniformly, have found that it is improper for a prosecutor in a criminal jury trial to speculate in oral argument about the supposed beliefs of the defendant's attorney with respect to defendant's guilt or innocence. See State v. Carpenter, 5 Kan. App.2d 214, 219, 613 P.2d 966 (1980). In this case, we conclude that the comments of the prosecutor were error. The remaining question is whether the comments denied Kleypas a fair trial. As noted in the beginning of our discussion concerning prosecutorial misconduct, our standard of review is well established: In determining that a prosecutor's improper remarks made in closing argument are not so gross and flagrant as to prejudice the jury against the accused and deny him or her a fair trial, the reviewing court must be able to find that when viewed in light of the record as a whole, the error had little, if any, likelihood of changing the result of the trial. This is a harmless error analysis. The court must be able to declare beyond a reasonable doubt that the error was harmless. State v. McCorkendale, 267 Kan. 263, Syl. ¶ 8, 979 P.2d 1239 (1999). We conclude that the remarks complained of were not so gross and flagrant as to deny a fair trial. The evidence of guilt was of such an overwhelming nature that there is little possibility the prosecutor's comments were given any weight in the jurors' minds. Thus, we are able to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that error was harmless. Issue 14. Jury Misconduct Following the penalty phase of trial, Kleypas filed a motion for recall of the jury, requesting a hearing on allegations of jury misconduct and a new trial. The motion was accompanied by affidavits from five jurors and the affidavit of Gaye Nease, an investigator with the Death Penalty Defense Unit, regarding her interviews with the jurors. The State responded with affidavits from eight jurors. Kleypas alleges six instances of jury misconduct occurring during the guilt and penalty phases: (1) Juror Garrison, a police officer, improperly consulted a Kansas Criminal Code and Procedure Handbook during deliberations and read from it to the other jurors. (2) Juror Mawhiney quoted the Bible during the penalty phase. (3) Jurors disregarded the court's instruction and considered Kleypas' failure to testify during the penalty phase. (4) Jurors speculated about the length of time Kleypas would serve in prison if he were not sentenced to death. (5) Juror Seawood refused to consider mitigating evidence after evidence of Kleypas' prior homicide conviction was introduced. (6) Juror Garrison advised the other jurors that a vote for death did not mean Kleypas would be put to death. A. Consulting the Kansas Criminal Code In a memorandum opinion, the trial court ruled that except for the claim concerning juror Garrison's consultation of a statute handbook, the allegations referenced the personal reasons the individual jurors relied on as to the verdict and, as such, improperly delved into their mental processes. The trial court found, however, the handbook did not involve mental processes and the trial court ruled this was a proper area of inquiry. Accordingly, the trial court allowed the recall of juror Garrison and held a hearing on the matter on February 20, 1998. Juror Swygert's affidavit stated: During deliberation a question came up regarding the definition of intent. The police officer advised that the court's definition was wrong and different from the definition that the police department had given her. She took a book out of her purse and read the definition out loud. She stated that the court was making up its own rules and that she did not wish to be a part of it. Juror Garrison, the police officer, stated in her affidavit: I thought that an element had been left out of the first degree murder instruction. I had the Kansas Criminal Code and Procedure Handbook put out by the Kansas Peace Officers Association with me. I looked at the definition of first degree murder and may have read it to the jury. Because of my concerns we asked the question about the elements. When the Judge told us that the instructions were correct I based my decision on the written instructions that were given to us. At the recall hearing, juror Garrison testified that she consulted a Kansas State Statute Code book concerning the various degrees of murder during the guilt-phase deliberations. Garrison kept the handbook in her purse. She could not remember whether she consulted any other portions but specifically denied reading anything regarding intent or advising any other jurors on a definition of intent. Garrison also did not remember if she read the definitions of first- and second-degree murder to the other jury members. As a result of reading her handbook, Garrison asked the trial court a question. The trial court's response clarified any questions she had. Garrison's question to the court read: As a police officer, I know one element of premeditated 1st degree murder was left out of the jury instructions. This element I believe is that the murder happened during the commission of another violent felony. I realize I must only rely on the instructions and not my personal knowledge. On the other hand, I can't erase this knowledge & make a decision. I think I should be excused & an alternate take my place. The trial court responded: You are instructed that the jury instructions correctly state the elements of the crime charged and that you are to follow said instructions. You are instructed to review jury instructions #17 and #18 as they correctly state the elements of Premeditated First Degree Murder and Felony Murder. After Garrison testified, the trial court noted that the handbook, with a minor irrelevant exception, correctly stated the law regarding first- and second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter. The trial court concluded that the introduction of this extrinsic material was juror misconduct. However, relying mainly on this court's decision in State v. Goseland, 256 Kan. 729, 887 P.2d 1109 (1994), and the Court of Appeals' decision in State v. Duncan, 3 Kan. App.2d 271, 593 P.2d 427 (1979), the court concluded the handbook did not introduce material issues of fact or personal knowledge of extraneous facts and, therefore, there was no showing that Kleypas' rights were substantially prejudiced. The trial court denied Kleypas' motion for new trial based on juror misconduct. Kleypas advances two arguments. First, he argues that the trial court should have conducted further inquiry where the affidavits submitted contradicted a juror's testimony during the hearing. Kleypas objected to the limited scope of the recall hearing, pointing out the apparent conflict between Garrison's testimony denying that she read the definition of intent from her handbook and the affidavits of juror Healy and juror Swygert. He cites the language found in Saucedo v. Winger, 252 Kan. 718, 850 P.2d 908 (1993): We have found it advisable to permit inquiry into a juror's misconduct which comes to the attention of other members of the panel and may be verified or denied, and a subsequent statement: Where a juror's misconduct relates to a material issue, the only way for a trial court to determine if the misconduct improperly influenced the jury's verdict is to recall the jury and inquire. 252 Kan. at 729, 732. The two statutes bearing on the issue are K.S.A. 60-441 and K.S.A. 60-444, which provide: Upon an inquiry as to the validity of a verdict or an indictment no evidence shall be received to show the effect of any statement, conduct, event or condition upon the mind of a juror as influencing him or her to assent to or dissent from the verdict or indictment or concerning the mental processes by which it was determined. K.S.A. 60-441. This article shall not be construed to a exempt a juror from testifying as a witness to conditions or occurrences either within or outside of the jury room having a material bearing on the validity of the verdict or the indictment, except as expressly limited by K.S.A. 60-441. K.S.A. 60-444(a). The inquiry which was proper under K.S.A. 60-444(a) was whether Garrison committed misconduct by reading the definition of intent from her handbook and whether she read the definition to the other jurors, but not what effect the misconduct might have had on the thought processes of the jurors. In Saucedo, where this court did find the trial court abused its discretion by failing to recall the jury, none of the jurors was recalled or questioned further. Here, the trial court did recall juror Garrison. Garrison was examined and cross-examined by the parties. The granting of a new trial or recalling the jury to answer for misconduct is within the sound discretion of the trial court. K.S.A. 60-259. See Saucedo, 252 Kan. at 729; State v. Macomber, 244 Kan. 396, 407, 769 P.2d 621, cert. denied 493 U.S. 842 (1989). The test of the trial court's abuse of discretion is whether no reasonable person would agree with the trial court. If any reasonable person would agree, an appellate court will not disturb the trial court's decision. Goseland, 256 Kan. at 735. Intent was a material issue at trial. The issue here is whether the trial court abused its discretion by limiting the recall of jurors to Garrison. It is difficult to conceive what purpose further testimony from the other jurors would provide. Even if the affidavits of Swygert and Nease are accepted as true, there is no allegation that the definition of intent contained in the handbook was incorrect. Further, after Garrison's misconduct, the jury asked for clarification from the court. The court directed the jury to the proper instructions which correctly stated the law. Under the circumstances, the trial judge's decision that a recall of jurors other than Garrison was unnecessary was not a decision with which no reasonable person could agree. Kleypas has failed to show that the trial court abused its discretion in limiting the scope of the recall or denying the motion for a new trial on the basis of Garrison's actions. B. Juror Mawhiney's Biblical Quotation Kleypas argues Garrison's affidavit admits that another juror quoted the Bible to her. Kleypas states that though it is not clear what specific passage was discussed, it is clear that the Bible was improperly considered in the penalty phase. Accordingly, he argues the death penalty must be set aside or, at the minimum, a recall of the jury ordered for further inquiry. Garrison's affidavit stated in relevant part: I do remember one lady quoting a Bible passage to me, but this did not play a big part in my decision. No other juror affidavit mentioned this occurrence. Gaye Nease's affidavit stated, in relevant part: When I interviewed Juror Garrison, she advised that she was having difficulty deciding to vote for death because of her religious beliefs. In response to her making statements about this, Juror Mawhiney quoted a passage from the Bible to her. The quote had the effect of removing her religious concerns about imposing the death penalty and allowed her to proceed to vote for the death penalty. The trial court did not refer to this specific incident in its memorandum opinion. Instead, the court concluded that except for Garrison's consulting her handbook, all other allegations of misconduct delved into the mental processes of the jury. The State's response to this allegation of juror misconduct and the remaining allegations is that the trial court correctly found the affidavits delved into mental processes and, thus, were inadmissible. This court may consider the fact that Mawhiney quoted a biblical passage. See K.S.A. 60-441 and 60-444. In the cases Kleypas cites, a Bible was present in the jury room. The court in Jones v. Kemp, 706 F. Supp. 1534, 1560 (N.D. Ga. 1989), held it was constitutional error for the trial court to have given permission for the jury to take a Bible into the jury room at the jurors' request. Key in its decision was the implied court approval of the jury's reference to extra judicial authority though the record was silent on whether the Bible was read or merely present in the room. In dicta, the court stated it in no way means to suggest that jurors cannot rely on their personal faith and deeplyheld beliefs when facing the awesome decision of whether to impose the sentence of death on a fellow citizen. 706 F. Supp. at 1560. In State v. Harrington, 627 S.W.2d 345, 350 (Tenn. 1981), the Tennessee Supreme Court vacated the defendant's death sentence where a juror was excluded because of the juror's opposition to the death penalty. The court also noted: [D]uring deliberations in the sentencing phase of the trial, the jury foreman buttressed his argument for imposition of the death penalty by reading to the jury selected biblical passages. His action, of course, was error which would have required a new sentencing hearing absent the error in excluding jurors for cause in violation of the Witherspoon standard. (Emphasis added.) 627 S.W.2d at 350. Though not determining whether grounds for reversal standing alone, the Kentucky Supreme Court noted it was error for jurors to take Bibles into the jury room with them in Grooms v. Com., 756 S.W.2d 131, 142 (Ky. 1988). The Chief Justice, in a concurring and dissenting opinion, would have found the use of the Bible an additional ground for reversal. Furthermore, the Chief Justice found it alarming that the uncontested affidavit not only confirmed the existence and use of the Bible during deliberations but that a particular passage played a major role in the jury's decision to vote for the death sentence. The Chief Justice stated: What the Bible says about the appropriateness of a death penalty in a particular case is not a legitimate concern of a penalty phase jury. `The law specifies when the death penalty is appropriate, and neither the prosecutor nor the defense counsel should be permitted to adduce evidence as to how [a capital] case should be decided on religious grounds.' Ice v. Commonwealth, Ky., 667 S.W.2d 671, 676 (1984). If evidence of biblical references to capital punishment is not competent during the penalty phase of a capital trial, it is axiomatic that a jury may not independently consult the biblical scriptures for guidance in reaching its life and death decision. 756 S.W.2d at 145. (Chief Justice Stephens, concurring and dissenting). All we know from the affidavit here is that juror Mawhiney quoted, not read, a biblical passage to juror Garrison, but it did not play a major role in her decision. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by not ordering a recall or inquiry into this matter. C. Jurors Considering Kleypas' Failure to Testify Kleypas argues the trial court erred in failing to recall the jury to inquire into affidavits stating that the jurors considered Kleypas' failure to testify despite jury instructions in both phases directing the jury to not consider this fact; to inquire into juror speculation regarding alternate sentencing dispositions in the event a death sentence was not imposed; and one juror's affidavit stating that she did not consider mitigating evidence after she was informed of Kleypas' prior homicide conviction. The trial court declined to recall jurors on any of these allegations, finding the claims improperly delved into the mental processes of the jury. Kleypas acknowledges that in State v. Myers, 215 Kan. 600, 602-03, 527 P.2d 1053 (1974), we ruled a jury verdict may not be impeached by evidence the jury considered the defendant's failure to testify. Kleypas complains this holding leaves a defendant no recourse despite flagrant disregard of a court's instruction and furthermore is inconsistent with later decisions, citing: City of Ottawa v. Heathman, 236 Kan. 417, 424, 690 P.2d 1375 (1984); Verren v. City of Pittsburg, 227 Kan. 259, 607 P.2d 36 (1980); State v. Wainwright, 18 Kan. App.2d 449, 856 P.2d 163 (1993); and Johnson v. Haupt, 5 Kan. App.2d 682, 623 P.2d 537 (1981). Kleypas suggests that to the extent even one juror voted for the death penalty because of his failure to testify, he was denied a right to a fair and impartial trial. When addressing this specific allegation of juror misconduct, the trial court relied on State v. Mitchell, 234 Kan. 185, 672 P.2d 1 (1983), which followed the ruling in Myers. Mitchell found allegations that a juror considered a defendant's failure to testify were prohibited by K.S.A. 60-441. 234 Kan. at 191. The trial court further found the affidavits failed to demonstrate a conscious conspiracy on the part of the jury to disregard the instructions following Wainwright, 18 Kan. App.2d at 453. In Myers, this court cited the long-held rule: `A juror cannot be heard to impeach his verdict by saying that in the deliberation he or any other member of the jury took into consideration the matter of the defendant having failed to testify in his own behalf when the jury was instructed not to do so.' [Citation omitted.] 215 Kan. at 602. This is in essence what is codified in K.S.A. 60-441. Under similar facts, Mitchell relied on Myers in finding no error when the trial court ruled a juror affidavit was not admissible as delving into the mind of the juror. 234 Kan. at 190-91. In City of Ottawa, this court discussed when it was proper to grant a motion for new trial based on evidence the jury has not followed the court's instructions. City of Ottawa acknowledged the limitations of K.S.A. 60-441 and 60-444 and held: Where under all the facts and circumstances it is disclosed that the jury was confused in making findings and in awarding damages, or where a jury verdict manifests a disregard for the plain instructions of the court on the issue of damages, or arbitrarily ignores proven elements of damage, or indicates passion, prejudice or a compromise on the issues of liability and damages, the verdict should be set aside on motion for a new trial. 236 Kan. at 423. Again, in Verren, the matter of jury misconduct concerned specifically conspiring to circumvent the instructions given to include attorney fees in the amount of damages awarded and did not rest solely on the mental processes of the jury. [T]he truth and veracity of those testifying to such misconduct can be tested. The matters recited in the affidavits filed in the present case do not solely relate to the mental processes, nor do they rest alone in the mind of a juror or jurors. The matters set forth in the affidavits, if proven, would establish a conscious conspiracy by the members of the jury to disregard and circumvent the instructions on the law given by the court. 227 Kan. at 262. A similar situation existed in Johnson, 5 Kan. App.2d at 686-87. The same concept was repeated in Wainwright, where juror affidavits were offered to show the jury disregarded the trial court's instruction on consideration of bloodhound evidence. The Court of Appeals found no error in the court refusing to delve into the mental processes of the jury where [t]he verdict is not so contrary to the evidence that it suggests a conspiracy to disregard the instruction. 18 Kan. App.2d at 453. Where claims of jury misconduct directly implicate the jury's mental processes and cannot be readily verified as is the case here, the trial court does not abuse its discretion by refusing to recall the jury. Where the affidavits set forth allegations, the truth of which can be verified, as in damage awards, the trial court can allow inquiry and order a new trial. There is no conflict in this area of law. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by refusing to recall the jury based on allegations the jury disregarded the court's instruction to not consider the fact that Kleypas did not testify in either the guilt or penalty phases. D. Jury's Speculation on Potential Non-death Sentence Kleypas argues the affidavits show the jurors speculated during the penalty phase on the amount of time he would be required to serve if the death penalty were not imposed. He contends this was a proper area for recall and inquiry as it involved consideration of extrinsic matters. Kleypas contends he was prejudiced because the affidavits demonstrate that this speculation played a key part in the jury's sentencing verdict. Furthermore, according to Kleypas, juror Swygert's affidavit shows the jury's understanding of alternative dispositions was wrong. Kleypas contends that because of the jurors' attempts to misadvise each other regarding the law, there was jury misconduct requiring reversal of the death sentence. In Cott v. Peppermint Twist Mgt. Co., 253 Kan. 452, 476, 856 P.2d 906 (1993), this court considered the extent a trial court can delve into the mental processes of the jury and stated: `Under these statutes [K.S.A. 60-441 and 60-444] we have held that a juror may not impeach his or her verdict on any ground inherent in the verdict itself; a juror may not divulge what considerations personally influenced him or her in arriving at the verdict or what reasoning personally led him or her to the final decision. State v. Taylor, 212 Kan. 780, 512 P.2d 449 (1973). More recently in Crowley v. Ottken, 224 Kan. 27, 31, 578 P.2d 689 (1978), it was pointed out that evidence is not admissible under K.S.A. 60-441 if it only pertains to the reasons a juror joined in the verdict. To be admissible the evidence must relate to extrinsic misconduct or to physical facts or occurrences within or without the jury room.' Verren v. City of Pittsburg, 227 Kan. 259, 260, 607 P.2d 36 (1980). `The mental process of a juror in reaching a verdict or the factors which influence the mental process cannot be inquired into for the purpose of impeaching a verdict. Public policy forbids the questioning of a juror on these matters for a very obvious reason, i.e., there is no possible way to test the truth or veracity of the answers.' Saucedo v. Winger, 252 Kan. 718, 729, 850 P.2d 908 (1993). See Crowley v. Ottken, 224 Kan. 27, 31, 578 P.2d 689 (1978) (juror's affidavit to impeach verdict inadmissible; affidavit `did not relate to extrinsic misconduct or to physical facts or occurrences within or without the jury room but only to the reasons she joined in the verdict'); Smith v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., 214 Kan. 128, 134-35, 519 P.2d 1101 (1974) (trial court properly excluded juror's affidavit that stated jury `instructions were not clear and were confusing to some of the jurors'). The jurors' speculation of what sentence Kleypas would receive or how long Kleypas would be incarcerated if he did not receive the death penalty was part of the reasoning or thought processes of the jury. In accordance with our well-reasoned precedent in this area, these were not proper subjects for recall and inquiry in order to impeach the verdict.
In an affidavit for the defense, juror Seawood stated: I felt cheated and angry when we were told about the old lady being killed for the first time at the penalty phase trial. Once I heard about the murder of the old lady, I did not want to hear any more. I did not even consider mitigation after I heard about the old lady's murder. I felt like it was my grandmother that had been killed. At second phase my thought went to the old lady even more than to [C.W.]. I did not hear what other jurors were saying because my thoughts about this were so strong. In her affidavit prepared for the State, she stated: Hearing about the murder of Bessie Lawrence did have a great effect on me. I still listened to all the evidence but the mitigators could not outweigh the aggravator of his killing the old lady. Kleypas suggests juror Seawood's initial affidavit shows that after she heard evidence of the prior homicide she had in essence decided the case prior to hearing all the evidence. He contends that therefore Seawood was not an impartial juror and a death sentence imposed by a jury where a member is not impartial denies him due process of law, citing State v. Cady, 248 Kan. 743, 811 P.2d 1130 (1991). In Cady, a juror was overheard during a recess saying, `[t]hat son-of-a-bitch [Cady] is guilty as hell.' 248 Kan. at 749-50. The remark was overheard by a detective who reported it to the prosecution; however, the prosecution never reported it to the defense counsel. While noting the right to a jury trial guarantees to the defendant a fair trial by an impartial, indifferent jury, the court also stated: [T]he Fourteenth Amendment's guaranty of due process does not require that a prospective juror be totally ignorant of the facts and issues involved in the case, and the mere existence on his or her part of a preconceived notion as to the guilt or innocence of the accused is, without more, insufficient to rebut the presumption of impartiality if he or she can lay aside an impression or opinion and render a verdict based on the evidence presented in court. 248 Kan. at 755. The court did not consider whether this juror's preconceived opinion violated due process because prosecutorial misconduct required a new trial. 248 Kan. at 757. Juror Seawood's statement is not of the type that occurred in Cady, and her second affidavit stated that she listened to all the evidence but the mitigators could not outweigh the aggravator of his killing the old lady. Instead of indicating a preconceived opinion, the affidavits, read together, demonstrate a proper weighing of aggravating and mitigating circumstances. She was required to and did evaluate all the evidence. Her ultimate decision was adverse to Kleypas but provides no basis for his claims of a denial of due process.
Juror Garrett stated in her affidavit for the defense, [a]nother juror, the police officer, repeatedly told the jury that just because a vote was for death, that did not mean that Mr. Kleypas would get death. She clarified in her affidavit for the State by stating: When I said in paragraph 4 in my first affidavit, `Another juror, a police officer, repeatedly told the jury that just because a vote was for death, that did not mean that Mr. Kleypas would get death,' what I meant, and what I think I had originally said, was that the police officer told the jury that just because a vote was for capital murder in the first phase, that did not mean that Mr. Kleypas would automatically get death in the second phase. Kleypas argues the trial court erred by not recalling juror Garrett to resolve the discrepancy between her affidavits. He contends it is critical to determine whether her comments were made during the guilt or penalty phase, as the effect was to minimize the gravity of the decision the jury was making, citing Caldwell v. Mississippi, 472 U.S. 320, 328-29, 86 L. Ed.2d 231, 105 S. Ct. 2633 (1985), in which the United States Supreme Court held that it was impermissible for the State to argue in closing that the responsibility for determining appropriateness of the defendant's death sentence lies elsewhere than with the jury. The trial court did not specifically address this claim, again labeling all of the issues except juror Garrison's consultation of her handbook as being the mental processes of the jury. The question is whether the trial court abused its discretion by refusing to recall juror Garrett. Even if we were to consider the affidavit, we note that Garrett's second affidavit clarified her original affidavit and hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion. Having considered all of Kleypas' allegations of juror misconduct, we find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in failing to recall jurors other than Garrison and in ultimately concluding that Kleypas' motion for new trial based on juror misconduct should be denied. Issue 15. Sufficiency of Notice to Seek the Death Penalty and Failure to Provide a Pretrial Ruling on Whether Sufficient Evidence Existed to Support Aggravating Circumstances Kleypas argues the State's notice of intent to seek the death penalty was insufficient where it did not provide notice of any aggravating circumstances or evidence the State would rely upon. He argues, furthermore, that when the State did file its notice of aggravating circumstances, the notice omitted some evidence the State ultimately presented. Finally, Kleypas contends that when he objected to the sufficiency of the aggravating circumstances, the trial court refused to rule on the motion until after the guilt phase of trial. According to Kleypas, this violated his due process rights. A. Sufficiency of Notice The notice statute, K.S.A. 21-4624, states in relevant part: (a) If a defendant is charged with capital murder, the county or district attorney shall file written notice if such attorney intends, upon conviction of the defendant, to request a separate sentencing proceeding to determine whether the defendant should be sentenced to death. Such notice shall be filed with the court and served on the defendant or the defendant's attorney not later than five days after the time of arraignment. If such notice is not filed and served as required by this subsection, the county or district attorney may not request such a sentencing proceeding and the defendant, if convicted of capital murder, shall be sentenced as otherwise provided by law, and no sentence of death shall be imposed hereunder. .... (c) In the sentencing proceeding, evidence may be presented concerning any matter that the court deems relevant to the question of sentence and shall include matters relating to any of the aggravating circumstances enumerated in K.S.A. 21-4625 and amendments thereto and any mitigating circumstances. Any such evidence which the court deems to have probative value may be received regardless of its admissibility under the rules of evidence, provided that the defendant is accorded a fair opportunity to rebut any hearsay statements. Only such evidence of aggravating circumstances as the state has made known to the defendant prior to the sentencing proceeding shall be admissible, and no evidence secured in violation of the constitution of the United States or of the state of Kansas shall be admissible. (Emphasis added.) On October 17, 1996, the day of arraignment, the State filed the following notice: The State of Kansas by and through Carla J. Stovall, Attorney General, John K. Bork, Assistant Attorney General, and Barry K. Disney, Crawford County Attorney, give notice to the Court and to the defendant of the State's intention, upon conviction of the defendant, to request a separate sentencing proceeding to determine whether the defendant should be sentenced to death. Kleypas filed a motion to bar the State from seeking the death penalty for inadequate and defective notice based on the omission of aggravating circumstances the State intended to rely upon in seeking the death penalty. The trial court denied the motion after a hearing. The trial court reasoned the statute was clear and gave no indication that the aggravating circumstances must be listed or included with the notice of intent to seek the death penalty. The trial court ruled the State must file its statutory aggravating circumstances within a reasonable time of trial so that the defendant has sufficient time to prepare accordingly. The State filed notice of the aggravating circumstances on January 3, 1997. The guilt-phase trial began on July 8, 1997. The issue involves interpretation of K.S.A. 21-4624. Therefore, our standard of review is as follows: Interpretation of a statute is a question of law, and our review is unlimited. State v. Robinson, 261 Kan. 865, 874, 934 P.2d 38 (1997). A fundamental rule of statutory construction is that the intent of the legislature governs when that intent can be ascertained from the statute. When a statute is plain and unambiguous, an appellate court must give effect to the intention of the legislature rather than determine what the law should or should not be. State v. Proffitt, 261 Kan. 526, 532, 930 P.2d 1059 (1997). The general rule is that a criminal statute must be strictly construed in favor of the accused and any reasonable doubt about the meaning is decided in favor of anyone subjected to the criminal statute. However, this rule is subordinate to the rule that judicial interpretation must be reasonable and sensible to effect legislative design and intent. State v. Roderick, 259 Kan. 107, 110, 911 P.2d 159 (1996). State v. Lewis, 263 Kan. 843, 847, 953 P.2d 1016 (1998). Kleypas argues the term notice in K.S.A. 21-4624(a) requires more than the cursory notice that the State intended to seek the death penalty and that instead notice must be sufficient to allow a defendant to face the death penalty proceedings. He contends that K.S.A. 21-4624 provides for only one notice and that nothing in the statute provides for a later second notice which would contain the aggravating circumstances. In support of his contention, he cites State v. Gideon, 257 Kan. 591, 894 P.2d 850 (1995). In Gideon, the State presented notice at arraignment of the aggravating circumstances on which it would rely. Gideon, however, argued that the State was required to give notice of the evidence it would present at the sentencing proceeding, not just the aggravating circumstances. We found that the State's presentation of the aggravating circumstances was sufficient, noting that K.S.A. 1993 Supp. 21-4624(1), which at that time addressed the notice requirement for imposition of the hard 40 sentence, does not detail what information must be contained in the notice. 257 Kan. at 601. We also concluded that the presentation of aggravating circumstances before trial was sufficient under the facts to advise Gideon as to what evidence would be presented. 257 Kan. at 601. Contrary to Kleypas' argument, our opinion in Gideon does not stand for the proposition that K.S.A. 21-4624 requires the State to present notice of the aggravating circumstances at the time of arraignment. Rather, in Gideon, we held that it was sufficient for the State to do so at that time and that no further notice regarding the evidence was required. 257 Kan. at 600-01. Kleypas also cites State v. Timmons, 192 N.J. Super. 141, 469 A.2d 46 (1983), for the proposition that notice of aggravating factors at arraignment is required. In Timmons, the State failed to present aggravating factors at arraignment as required by court rule. The court found this to be error and precluded the State from alleging aggravating factors not disclosed. 192 N.J. Super. at 149. In so holding, the court stated: R. 3:13-4(a) requires the prosecutor to give defendant, at arraignment, an itemization of aggravating factors which he or she intends to prove at the sentencing hearing. Discovery pertaining to such aggravating factors must also be disclosed at arraignment, unless the time to do so is enlarged for good cause by the court. The purpose for this requirement is revealed in the commentary to the rule, which states, `This practice would serve to avoid needless delays often occasioned by the failure to provide discovery in a timely fashion. Such a practice has the added advantage fo allowing increased time to fully investigate and analyze the aggravating and mitigating circumstances said to be present in a given case.' [Citation omitted.] The additional time for investigation provided via the rule is vitally important for the defendant. This is so because, `...the penalty of death is qualitatively different from a sentence of imprisonment, however long. Death, in its finality, differs more from life imprisonment than a 100 year prison term differs from one of only a year to two. Because of that qualitative difference, there is a corresponding difference in the need for reliability in the determination that death is the appropriate punishment in a specific case.' Woodson v. North Carolina, 428 U.S. 280, 305, 96 S. Ct. 2978, 2991, 49 L. Ed.2d 944 (1976). This distinction cannot be overstated. 192 N.J. Super. at 144. The Timmons court went on to recite several considerations for which a defendant might need this extra time, including: (1) the retention or appointment of counsel,( 2) tactical decision about the handling of the case and pretrial motion, (3) preparation for the penalty phase, (4) eligibility for bail, and (5) plea bargaining. 192 N.J. Super. at 145-46. While the policy considerations that lead the New Jersey courts to adopt a court rule requiring notice of aggravating factors at the time of arraignment are certainly valid, we have adopted no such rule in Kansas. Such a bright line rule might be helpful but it cannot be said that it is required by the language of K.S.A. 21-4624. Rather, the statute requires only that the State file notice of its intent to seek the death penalty at that time. K.S.A. 21-4624(a). This notice is sufficient to allow a defendant to begin his or her preparation for trial as it serves notice that the case will indeed be a death case, thus allowing the defendant to make choices regarding the retention of counsel, plea bargaining, and preparation of mitigating circumstances. See Timmons, 192 N.J. Super. at 145-46. We, therefore, hold that under K.S.A. 21-4624, the State is only required to provide notice that it intends to seek the death penalty upon conviction for capital murder. The State may at that time provide notice of the aggravating circumstances on which it will rely but the State is not required to do so as long as it provides such notice within a reasonable time prior to trial to allow the defendant an opportunity to prepare to defend against the aggravating circumstances. Here, the State filed notice of aggravating circumstances 6 months before trial. Kleypas was aware of one likely aggravating circumstancehis prior murder conviction. Under the circumstances, Kleypas' due process rights were not violated. As part of his argument regarding the notice requirement in K.S.A. 21-4624, Kleypas also contends that the prosecution's list of the evidence which it would offer lacked notice of some of the evidence ultimately presented, specifically, that footprints behind Bessie Lawrence's house led to Kleypas' home. However, K.S.A. 21-4624 does not require the State to list the evidence it will present with regard to the aggravating circumstances as long as the State has made this evidence known to the defense prior to the sentencing proceeding. See K.S.A. 21-4624(c); Gideon, 257 Kan. at 600-01. B. Pretrial Ruling on Sufficiency of Aggravating Circumstances Kleypas contends he had a right to a judicial determination of whether there was some basis for the existence of the aggravating circumstances or, in other words, probable cause before the guilt phase even began. Kleypas filed a motion challenging the sufficiency of some of the aggravating circumstances; however, the trial court refused to rule on the motion until the conclusion of the guilt phase. The State filed notice of five aggravating circumstances on January 3, 1997. Prior to commencement of the penalty phase trial, the State dismissed one aggravator and the trial court dismissed another, leaving three aggravating circumstances. Kleypas argues the trial court's failure to rule on his motions deprived him of due process of law. He contends the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Unites States Constitution requires that a defendant subject to the death penalty must first be given notice that the penalty may be imposed and then be given a fair opportunity to contest the imposition before it is pronounced. He urges this court to follow California and New Jersey and find some judicial review of the prosecutor's decision to seek the death penalty prior to trial would be in order, citing State v. McCrary, 97 N.J. 132, 478 A.2d 339 (1984), and Ghent v. Superior Court of Santa Clara County, 153 Cal. Rptr. 720, 90 Cal. App.3d 944 (1979). Otherwise, according to Kleypas, any time there is a homicide the prosecutor can impanel a death qualified jury for the guilt phase of the trial by merely filing a list of aggravating circumstances, even if none exist. He argues that a defendant has a significant interest in having a normal non-death qualified jury, an interest which is lost if the trial court denies the defendant a hearing and ruling on challenges to aggravating circumstances. In McCrary, the State of New Jersey brought an indictment charging McCrary with purposeful or knowing murder, aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a handgun, and possession of a firearm with a purpose to use the weapon unlawfully. Under New Jersey law, McCrary faced the death penalty for a purposeful or knowing murder if one or more statutorily specified aggravating factors were shown and not outweighed by one or more mitigating factors. The New Jersey Code required the State to give a defendant notice of any aggravating factors it intended to prove `[p]rior to the commencement of the sentencing proceeding, or at such time as he has knowledge of the existence of an aggravating factor....' 97 N.J. at 135. At the time of notification, the State was also required to provide `all discovery bearing on' the aggravating factors. 97 N.J. at 138. Before trial, McCrary moved to strike the aggravating factors, alleging the factors were totally unsupported by the evidence. Over the State's objection, the trial court ordered a hearing on the sufficiency of proof of aggravating factors. The State filed a motion for leave to appeal from the order. The New Jersey court granted review on the limited issue of whether the New Jersey Code permitted judicial review of aggravating factors prior to trial on the factual basis of the factors and, if so, the type of hearing that could be conducted. The New Jersey court made clear that it was not addressing any constitutional or statutory issues not squarely before the court. 97 N.J. at 138. First, on the issue of jurisdiction, the New Jersey court stated: When a criminal proceeding takes on the character of a capital case, the exercise of such authority [jurisdictional] is not only tenable, it is absolutely imperative to ensure fundamental fairness to a defendant. There is a qualitative distinction between death and imprisonment. `Because of that qualitative difference, there is a corresponding difference in the need for reliability in the determination that death is the appropriate punishment in a specific case.' Woodson v. North Carolina, 428 U.S. 280, 305 (1976). A healthy sensitivity to this distinction militates against prejudicing a defendant by the unwarranted injection of the possibility of a death sentence in a homicide proceeding. 97 N.J. at 139-40. Next, the court stated that the fact that the legislature did not provide for such a remedy did not mean the judicial branch was limited in fashioning or denying remedies within the boundary of legislative expression. The court particularly noted the appropriateness of judicial oversight in view of the significance of the prosecutor's notice, which alone transforms a homicide case into a capital proceeding. The New Jersey Code requires no probable cause determination of whether a homicide case should proceed as a capital case. The prosecutor's notice acts as the trigger for both the death qualification of the jury and the separate sentencing phase. Therefore, [s]ome judicial oversight is required to ensure at the very least that the proceeding contemplated by the prosecutor's notice not be set in motion without justifiable cause. 97 N.J. at 140. Addressing prosecutorial discretion, the New Jersey court acknowledged the broad discretionary powers and presumption of validity in the conduct of the prosecutor and sought only minimal intrusion into this area. Accordingly, in striking a balance between prosecutorial discretion and fairness to the defendant, the court adopted the following standard for dismissal of indictments: a presumption in favor of the charges requiring a challenging defendant to demonstrate that evidence is clearly lacking to support the charges. 97 N.J. at 142. The New Jersey court stressed that trial court discretion in granting a hearing should be limited to motions alleging the aggravating factors are plainly without support. The court noted striking of an aggravating factor would be without prejudice. If later supporting evidence came to light before commencement of the sentencing phase and upon notice to the defendant, a sentencing phase could proceed. 97 N.J. at 144-45. Although it found California case law distinguishable because California law required that evidence of special circumstances justifying imposition of a death penalty be alleged in accusatory pleadings presented by the grand jury, the New Jersey court noted with approval the limited review provided for in Ghent. 97 N.J. at 145. See also State v. Matulewicz, 115 N.J. 191, 557 A.2d 1001 (1989) (following McCrary). In Ghent, the court allowed pretrial review of the evidence supporting the special circumstances required to impose the death penalty. 153 Cal. Rptr. at 726-27. Both McCrary and Ghent stand for the proposition that it is not error to allow a pretrial challenge to aggravating factors. However, Kleypas provides no authority holding that a pretrial determination of whether there is sufficient evidence of aggravating circumstances to justify a separate penalty phase trial is constitutionally required. We do not find the reasoning in McCrary in favor of conducting such a determination to be persuasive. Kansas has a specific charge of capital murder and, therefore, an initial determination of whether a case should proceed as a capital offense. In New Jersey, a defendant may be subject to the death penalty for any purposeful murder after the State provides notice of an aggravating factor and there is no prosecutorial check before the case proceeds as a capital-murder case. Due to the nature of this system, the New Jersey court held that some judicial oversight was required. Based on the marked difference between Kansas and New Jersey law, we are not required to fashion such a judicial remedy in order to protect the rights of defendants. We hold that the trial court did not err in failing to allow Kleypas to challenge the sufficiency of the aggravating circumstances prior to the guilt phase of the trial. Issue 16. Competency to Stand Trial Kleypas filed two motions alleging that he was incompetent to stand trial. Both were denied by the court after hearing. He contends that the trial court abused its discretion in denying both motions. Our standard of review on both motions is one of abuse of discretion. A criminal defendant is incompetent to stand trial when, because of a mental illness or defect, the defendant is unable to understand the nature and purpose of the proceedings against him or her or where he or she is unable to make or assist in making a defense. K.S.A. 22-3301. On appeal, a reviewing court's inquiry regarding the decision of a district court that a defendant is competent to stand trial is whether the trial court abused its discretion. State v. Peckham, 255 Kan. 310, 325, 875 P.2d 257 (1994). Judicial discretion is abused where no reasonable person would take the view adopted by the trial court. If reasonable persons could differ as to the propriety of the action taken by the trial court, then it cannot be said that the trial court abused its discretion. State v. O'Neal, 256 Kan. 909, 911, 889 P.2d 128 (1995). State v. Barnes, 263 Kan. 249, 263, 948 P.2d 627 (1997). Kleypas urges this court to apply the above standard to the evidence but argues that the burden of proof at the first hearing was upon the State because the trial court ordered his competency evaluation on its own motion. He cites State v. Cellier, 263 Kan. 54, 70, 948 P.2d 616 (1997): The obvious rule is that a party who raises the issue of competence to stand trial has the burden of going forward with the evidence, which will be measured by the preponderance of the evidence standard. When the court itself raises the competency issue, the court is not a party and cannot be responsible for coming forward with the evidence, but it can assign that burden to the State because both the court and the State have a duty to provide due process and to provide a fair trial to an accused. However, it is clear that while the trial court appointed Larned State Security Hospital (Larned Hospital) to evaluate Kleypas, it did so only after the defense counsel filed a motion raising the issue of incompetency. The party who raises the issue of competency, not the one who orders the evaluation, is assigned the burden of proof. When opening the first hearing, the trial court explicitly stated: Approximately a month ago the Court ordered that the defendant's competency be determined pursuant to motion filed by the defendant. Accordingly, he was sent to the Larned State Security Hospital for that competency evaluation. (Emphasis added.) Contrary to his contention, application of our standard of review properly places the burden of proof on Kleypas. A. First Motion On March 7, 1997, Kleypas filed a notice of incompetency to stand trial. Attached to the notice was an affidavit signed by the defense counsel attesting to Kleypas' behavior. Also attached was an affidavit of Dr. Jonathan Lipman, a neuropharmacologist, attesting to his findings after an evaluation of Kleypas in June 1996, and Dr. Gerald Gentry, attesting to his observations of Kleypas in August and September 1996. The final attachment was a 1977 report from Dr. Emasue Snow, apparently conducted and written for Kleypas' defense in the murder trial of Bessie Lawrence. The trial court held a hearing on April 11, 1997. Dr. Ekkehard Othmer testified for the defense, and Dr. J.L. Fernando, of Larned Hospital, testified for the State. Dr. Fernando testified that Kleypas was clearly competent to stand trial and that it was not even a close call. Dr. Fernando testified that Larned Hospital did not perform comprehensive testing on Kleypas because such extensive evaluation is usually reserved for marginal competency cases or where it is necessary to determine the existence of mental disease or defect as required for a potential insanity defense, which was not the case here. Dr. Fernando noted that Kleypas was aware of the serious nature of the charges against him and the potential consequences of the charges. It was Dr. Fernando's opinion that Kleypas would be able to work with his attorneys as demonstrated when Kleypas refused to sign a release of information consent form without first consulting his lawyers. Dr. Fernando testified that Kleypas' thought processes were organized and there was no evidence of auditory or visual hallucinations during Kleypas' stay at Larned Hospital. Larned Hospital staff did not observe evidence of bizarre behavior or response to unseen stimuli and, in general, observed that Kleypas acted appropriately throughout his stay. Dr. Othmer did not evaluate Kleypas; rather, he evaluated the adequacy of Larned Hospital's evaluation. It was Dr. Othmer's opinion that Larned Hospital's evaluation process was inadequate to provide a reliable conclusion on Kleypas' competency to stand trial. He criticized the lack of thorough psychological testing of Kleypas, although admitting that in cases where the individual is obviously competent, such an evaluation process could be shortened. Dr. Othmer also took issue with Larned Hospital's assignment of a Global Assessment Function (GAF) score of 40. The GAF is computed on a scale of 1 to 100 with anyone rated at 50 or below requiring hospitalization. The GAF measures an individual's ability to relate or interact with others in an appropriate way. Dr. Othmer found Kleypas' score of 40 inconsistent with Dr. Fernando's opinion that Kleypas was competent to stand trial. Dr. Fernando, however, based the low GAF score on Kleypas' prior murder and his present capital-murder charge, rather than a lack of contact with reality. After consideration of the testimony of both psychiatrists regarding Kleypas' GAF score and concluding that a score of 40 under the facts of this case was not inconsistent with a finding of competency, the trial court ruled: Competency to stand trial is defined as the ability of a defendant to understand the nature and purpose of the proceedings against him and to make or assist in making a defense. State v. Peckham, 255 Kan. 310. There is simply nothing of significance in the testimony or the exhibits of significance that militates against a finding of competency. SSH [Larned Hospital] believes the defendant is obviously competent and that this is not even a close call. Rather than presenting evidence that the defendant is incompetent, counsel have only attacked the thoroughness of the SSH evaluation. Even Dr. Othmer did not state that the defendant is incompetent, rather, he believes that additional testing is necessary before that determination can be made. This position goes to the weight of the evidence. Ultimately the only evidence on the issue of competency that was presented, and can therefore be weighed, is evidence supporting a finding of competency. The above-cited Peckham case is instructive as it involved a determination of competency base upon three factors: first, the lack of evidence of incompetency; second, as expert's direct opinion of competency; and third, the court's own observations. Peckham, at 325. In the present matter, there is no evidence of incompetency. Secondly, the only direct opinion on the issue of competency was Dr. Fernando's opinion that the defendant is indeed competent for trial. Dr. Othmer was unable to render an opinion of the issue of competency. Indeed, Dr. Othmer has never interviewed the defendant. Third, the Court's observations of the defendant in court support a finding of competency. The defendant has always responded appropriately to questions posed by the Court, the defendant answered questions appropriately the sole time he has testified in this matter, and the Court has never observed any inappropriate conduct or mannerism exhibited by the defendant during the many hearings held to date in this matter. Moreover, the Court notes the defendant's responses to the so-called Sentence Completion Test, the form entitled C.S.T., in the Psychiatric section of Defense Exhibit #1. Said form clearly demonstrates that the defendant has the correct perception of this matter. Based upon the above-referenced findings and comments, all exhibits submitted, the testimony of the competency hearing, and arguments of counsel, the Court finds that the defendant understands the nature and the purpose of the proceedings against him and is able to make or assist in the making of his defense. The defendant is accordingly found competent to stand trial. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, the Court finds that the defendant has been unable to sustain his burden of proving incompetency by a preponderance of the evidence. Moreover, the Court believes that the evidence of competency is sufficiently substantial enough that the Court would nevertheless find the defendant competent to stand trial even were the burden to be placed upon the State. On appeal, Kleypas raises many of the same issues addressed by the trial court. Rather than attacking the trial court's finding of competency, Kleypas complains of the inadequacy of the Larned Hospital evaluation. The additional arguments and authority advanced by Kleypas fail to demonstrate an abuse of discretion. Accordingly, under our standard we affirm the trial court's determination as to Kleypas' first motion. B. Second Motion On June 30, 1997, within 2-1/2 months of the trial court's initial determination that Kleypas was competent to stand trial, Kleypas filed a second notice of incompetency. In addition to attacking the prior competency hearing, this notice alleged that Kleypas was experiencing ongoing memory lapses or amnesia. The notice included an affidavit from Gaye Nease, an attorney employed as a mitigation specialist by the Kansas Death Penalty Defense Unit. In the affidavit, Nease brought up several instances regarding Kleypas' mental processes interfering with his ability to communicate with counsel. However, Nease did not testify at the second competency hearing. Despite the trial court's opinion that the notice provided no new information and was in the nature of a delaying tactic, the court ordered another competency evaluation to be performed by Wyandot Mental Health Center (WMHC). Kleypas refused to be interviewed by WMHC before consulting with his attorneys. He was allowed to consult with his attorneys, and the interview was rescheduled. Kleypas again refused to cooperate with WMHC. The trial court held a hearing on July 7, 1997. The only evidence presented was that of Mark Roberts, a psychologist at WMHC, who testified that Kleypas had refused testing and that he recommended further testing as merely standard operating procedure when someone refused to be interviewed. The trial court offered Kleypas another chance to be evaluated, but he again declined. The trial court concluded that the allegations in Kleypas' second notice of incompetency were essentially the same as contained in the first notice; that Kleypas, in essence, was attempting to attack the first finding of competency. The court noted the affidavit of Nease and that she was not present for testimony or cross-examination. The trial court found Kleypas' refusal to be interviewed by WMHC before he consulted with his attorneys again suggests he understands the seriousness of the charges and does not suggest any incompetency. As Kleypas' actions precluded any further attempt to determine his competency and in view of the lack of evidence presented at this hearing, the trial court concluded that it could only find Kleypas competent to stand trial. After the trial court ruled against Kleypas on the competency issue, defense counsel Wood stated he was prepared to take the witness stand and provide evidence on Kleypas' alleged amnesia, referring to an earlier motion filed by defense counsel titled Notice of Necessity of Defense Counsel Becoming a Witness for the Accused and Proffer of Material Evidence to Which Counsel is the only Witness. This earlier motion claimed that Kleypas could not recall the initial interrogation by Agent Williams and Detective Hite or that he told defense counsel that Agent Williams and Hite threatened him on the car ride back to Kansas; that he could not recall advising his attorneys that Agent Williams rehearsed what would be covered on the videotaped confession; and that he did not respond `[t]he long and the short of it, yes,' to the question of whether he killed C.W. but instead said, `I guess I did, I'm not sure.' The trial court did not allow Wood to testify, indicating that it was not doubting Wood's word but instead was finding that even if the testimony were allowed, amnesia alone would not be sufficient to make a finding of incompetency, citing State v. Owens, 248 Kan. 273, 807 P.2d 101 (1991). Kleypas argues the trial court's refusal to hear testimony from the defense counsel on the competency issue is reversible error. He claims the refusal was a due process violation as the defense counsel's testimony was the best evidence of Kleypas' behavior since counsel had spent countless hours conversing with Kleypas. Kleypas contends the overwhelming weight of federal and state law supports his argument that defense counsel must be permitted to testify at a competency hearing. The authorities cited by Kleypas support the view that an attorney may testify at a competency hearing. However, the general principle in those cases is that the attorney's testimony may not violate the attorney-client privilege and, thus, is permitted where it does not reveal the substance of any confidential communication but instead focuses on the attorney's observations of matters that are not confidential, such as the defendant's behavior or demeanor. See Howell v. United States, 282 F. Supp. 246, 249 (E.D. Ill. 1968); Bishop v. Superior Court In & For Puma Cty., 150 Ariz. 404, 408, 724 P.2d 23 (1986); Manning v. State, 766 S.W.2d 551, 556-57 (Tex. App. 1989). Regarding amnesia as a basis for a claim of incompetency, we have held: Amnesia alone should not supply the basis for declaring a defendant incompetent to stand trial. Amnesia is a factor to be considered in determining whether the defendant is able to meet the test of competency to stand trial and to obtain a fair trial. State v. Gilder, 223 Kan. 220, Syl. ¶ 3, 574 P.2d 196 (1977). See Annot., 46 A.L.R.3d 544. The danger of false claims is great. Fajeriak v. State, 520 P.2d 795, 802 (Alaska 1974). Amnesia can easily be feigned. State v. Mc-Clendan, 103 Ariz. 105, 108, 437 P.2d 421 (1968). Owens, 248 Kan. at 280. Kleypas acknowledges that amnesia alone does not require a finding of incompetence; however, he contends there was evidence of significant amnesia which hamstrung his ability to effectively communicate with his defense team. There was no evidence of Kleypas' memory deficit from Larned Hospital's evaluation of him. Kleypas gave no indication he had any amnesia for the significant events constituting the offense. Kleypas' suggestion that he refused the second competency evaluation contrary to the advice of counsel is self serving and not supported by the record. It is true that the failure to observe procedures adequate to protect a defendant's right not to be tried or convicted while incompetent... deprives him of his due process right to a fair trial. Drape v. Missouri, 420 U.S. 162, 172, 43 L. Ed.2d 103, 95 S. Ct. 896 (1975). However, the court's failure to allow the defense counsel to testify regarding Kleypas' alleged amnesia did not deprive Kleypas of his due process rights. The procedure used here was adequate to protect Kleypas' due process rights, and the evidence supported the trial court's finding of competency. We conclude that under the circumstances of this case, neither the refusal of the trial court to allow Wood to testify nor the finding that Kleypas was competent to stand trial was an abuse of discretion on the part of the trial court. State v. Peckham, 255 Kan. 310, 325, 875 P.2d 257 (1994). Even considering Wood's proffered testimony, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in determining that Kleypas was competent to stand trial. Although Wood proffered that Kleypas suffered from amnesia which affected his ability to communicate effectively with counsel, Kleypas' evaluation from Larned Hospital showed no such memory deficit. Under the circumstances, any error in the failure to consider Wood's testimony was harmless. Issue 17. Removal of Prospective Juror Molden for CauseUnited States Constitution Kleypas contends that the trial court erred in removing prospective juror Molden for cause due to her moral and religious beliefs about the death penalty. During voir dire, Molden stated that her moral and religious beliefs would prevent her from returning a verdict which would result in the execution of another human being. However, upon questions posed by the defense counsel, she indicated that it would be possible for her to return a death penalty if the case fell within her list of very few exceptions. These exceptions were not identified, although Molden said she would know at once if the case met her exceptions. The defense counsel did not object to the removal of Molden for cause. We have held that challenges for cause are matters left to the sound discretion of the trial court, which is in a better position to view the demeanor of prospective jurors during voir dire. A trial court's ruling on a challenge for cause will not be disturbed on appeal unless it is clearly erroneous or amounts to an abuse of discretion. State v. Dixon, 248 Kan. 776, 788, 811 P.2d 1153 (1991). Kleypas argues that the court abused its discretion because the juror's response that she could return a death penalty for one of her very few exceptions rehabilitated her as a qualified juror under Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510, 20 L. Ed.2d 776, 88 S. Ct. 1770 (1968), and Wainwright v. Witt, 469 U.S. 412, 83 L. Ed.2d 841, 105 S. Ct. 844 (1985). In Witherspoon, the United States Supreme Court held that a sentence of death could not be carried out if the jury that imposed or recommended it was chosen by excluding veniremen for cause simply because they voiced general objections to the death penalty or expressed conscientious or religious scruples against its infliction. 391 U.S. at 522. Witt clarified the standard for determining when a prospective juror may be excluded for cause because of his or her views on the death penalty. The Court stated that a prospective juror may be excluded for cause because of his or her views on capital punishment where the juror's views would `prevent or substantially impair the performance of his duties as a juror in accordance with his instructions and his oath.' 469 U.S. at 424. The Court said that this standard likewise does not require that a juror's bias be proved with `unmistakable clarity.' 469 U.S. at 424. The Witt decision was grounded in the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments and the right to an impartial jury. 469 U.S. at 422-23. K.S.A. 22-3410(2)(i) allows a party to challenge any prospective juror for cause when a juror's state of mind with reference to the case or any of the parties is such that the court determines there is doubt that he can act impartially and without prejudice to the substantial rights of any party. Kleypas argues that the facts in this case are strikingly similar to those in Gray v. Mississippi, 481 U.S. 648, 95 L. Ed.2d 622, 107 S. Ct. 2045 (1987); Farina v. State, 680 So.2d 392 (Fla. 1996); and Clark v. State, 929 S.W.2d 5 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996). However, in each of the cases relied upon by Kleypas, the juror, although opposed to the death, unequivocally stated that she would follow the instructions even if it resulted in the imposition of the death penalty. In the case at hand, the State asked whether Molden's beliefs would substantially impair her ability to follow the instructions. She stated: Yeah, I guess I would put it like that, yeah. Her comments following this statement regarding special cases where she might impose the death penalty did not rehabilitate her in this regard. Clearly, from her testimony, Molden's ability to follow the instructions would have been dependent on whether the case was one of her very few exceptions, a standard she was unable to articulate. Thus, the court's decision that Molden's views would `prevent or substantially impair the performance of [her] duties as a juror in accordance with [her] instructions and [her] oath' was not clearly erroneous or an abuse of discretion. See Witt, 469 U.S. at 424. Issue 18. Removal of Five Jurors for CauseKansas Constitution Kleypas next argues about the removal of five prospective jurors, including Molden, for cause. We have already discussed the removal of Molden above, concluding that it was not error under Witt. Kleypas recognizes that the removal of the other four prospective jury members, Ash, Watson, Neal, and Tinder may also have been permissible under the standard in Witt. Kleypas contends, however, that the removal of the five prospective jurors violated § 7 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights, which he claims provides broader protection than the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and should be read to provide a further limitation on the State's power to exclude prospective jurors based on their religious opposition to the death penalty. Section 7 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights provides: The right to worship God according to the dictates of conscience shall never be infringed; nor shall any person be compelled to attend or support any form of worship; nor shall any control of or interference with the rights of conscience be permitted, nor any preference be given by law to any religious establishment or mode of worship. No religious test or property qualification shall be required for any office of public trust, nor for any vote at any election, nor shall any person be incompetent to testify on account of religious belief. Kleypas contends an office of public trust is equivalent to public office which would include a juror, citing K.S.A. 21-3110(19)(c) (public officer includes a judicial officer which in turn includes a juror) and State v. Monahan, 72 Kan. 492, 501, 84 Pac. 130 (1905) (office of public trust is equivalent to public office). Consequently, Kleypas maintains the trial court cannot require a religious test of an individual holding the office of juror. Thus, according to Kleypas' theory, excluding a juror for cause on the basis of his or her religious belief concerning the death penalty is an impermissible religious test, violating § 7 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights. K.S.A. 43-156 provides that [n]o person shall be excluded from service as a grand or petit juror in the district courts of Kansas on account of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or economic status. Section 7 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights does not provide any greater limitation than already provided under K.S.A. 43-156. The trial court excused Ash, Watson, Neal, Tinder, and Molden due to their inability to be impartial and follow their oath as jurors regarding consideration of the death penalty, not on religious grounds. Further, where one of the jurors cited religious beliefs as a basis for objecting to the death penalty, religion did not appear to be the sole basis for the formation of their beliefs as exemplified by juror Ash's comment that his views on the death penalty developed as a result of life experiences. We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by excusing Ash, Watson, Neal, Tinder, and Molden for cause. Issue 19. Denial of a Separate Sentencing Jury Kleypas contends that the trial court erred in denying his request for a separate sentencing jury. He argues that he was prejudiced because the same jury that heard his guilt phase also heard the penalty phase argument. K.S.A. 21-4624(b) governs juries in capital cases and provides: Except as provided in K.S.A. 21-4622 and 21-4623, and amendments thereto, upon conviction of a defendant of capital murder, the court, upon motion of the county or district attorney, shall conduct a separate sentencing proceeding to determine whether the defendant shall be sentenced to death. The proceeding shall be conducted by the trial judge before the trial jury as soon as practical. If any person who served on the trial jury is unable to serve on the jury for the sentencing proceeding, the court shall substitute an alternate juror who has been impaneled for the trial jury. If there are insufficient alternate jurors to replace trial jurors who are unable to serve at the sentencing proceeding, the trial judge may summon a special jury of 12 persons which shall determine the question of whether a sentence of death shall be imposed. Jury selection procedures, qualifications of jurors and grounds for exemption or challenge of prospective jurors in criminal trials shall be applicable to the selection of such special jury. The jury at the sentencing proceeding may be waived in the manner provided by K.S.A. 22-3403 and amendments thereto for waiver of a trial jury. If the jury at the sentencing proceeding has been waived or the trial jury has been waived, the sentencing proceeding shall be conducted by the court. (Emphasis added.) The express provisions of the statute undermine Kleypas' argument. We are not at liberty to interpret other provisions of the statute to require a separate jury where, as here, express provisions of the statute provide otherwise. The provisions of K.S.A. 21-4624(b) are constitutionally sound. The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld legislatures' enactments of unitary or same jury procedures in capital cases. Lockhart v. McCree, 476 U.S. 162, 180, 90 L. Ed.2d 137, 106 S. Ct. 1758 (1986); Spaziano v. Florida, 468 U.S. 447, 464, 82 L. Ed.2d 340, 104 S. Ct. 3154 (1984); Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 168, 49 L. Ed.2d 859, 96 S. Ct. 2909 (1976). Lockhart identified several interests in support of a unified jury: (1) The same jurors responsible for deciding guilt should also have the responsibility for deciding punishment, the two questions being intertwined; (2) in some cases the defendant may benefit from the same jury system if the jury has any residual doubts concerning the strength of the evidence; and (3) evidence presented during the guilt phase, having a bearing on the penalty phase, would not have to be presented twice. 476 U.S. at 181. The trial judge in this case specifically identified some of the above advantages in denying the defendant's motions. Kleypas argues that the failure to provide for a separate sentencing jury puts him in the untenable position of being unable to voir dire the jury as to its bias regarding certain aggravating circumstances, such as his prior record, for fear of prejudicing the jury in the guilt phase. He cites authority from Oregon and New Jersey involving a similar issue to the one he now raises. See State v. Biegenwald, 126 N.J. 1, 594 A.2d 172 (1991); State v. Pinnell, 311 Or. 98, 806 P.2d 110 (1991). However, it must be observed that each state interprets its own law and none of the authority cited is controlling in the interpretation of Kansas law. K.S.A. 21-4624(b) provides a method for the defendant in every capital-murder case to remove biased jurors during the penalty phase. The defendant is entitled to ask questions during voir dire before the sentencing phase of the trial begins. Here, Kleypas chose not to voir dire the jurors concerning the binding effect of his prior murder conviction or any of the aggravating circumstances. However, that procedure existed as a method of removing potentially biased jurors for cause. See Morgan v. Illinois, 504 U.S. 719, 119 L. Ed.2d 492, 112 S. Ct. 2222 (1992). The provisions of K.S.A. 21-4624(b) anticipate that persons who served as jurors during trial may not be available for the sentencing phase of the trial: If any person who served on the trial jury is unable to serve on the jury for the sentencing proceeding, the court shall substitute an alternate juror who has been impaneled for the trial jury. If there are insufficient alternate jurors to replace trial jurors who are unable to serve at the sentencing proceeding, the trial judge may summon a special jury of 12 persons which shall determine the question of whether a sentence of death shall be imposed. We conclude, based upon the express provision of K.S.A. 21-4624(b), that the trial court correctly denied Kleypas' motion for a separate sentencing jury. Issue 20. Alleged Judicial Misconduct During Jury Orientation Kleypas contends that a comment made by the trial court during jury orientation was error and prejudiced his right to a fair trial. During jury orientation, the prospective jurors were separated into two groups. As part of its opening comments before both groups, the trial court provided a brief general overview of the justice system and, in particular, juries and their function. In giving this overview, the trial court stated: Under certain circumstances, parties are entitled to a jury trial when they are not otherwise able to settle their controversies. The next morning, Kleypas filed a motion for mistrial and discharge of panel and/or corrective instruction. Kleypas argued the comment would lead the jury to believe that it was within Kleypas' power to settle the controversy but that he had not done so. Further, the comment suggested to the jury that there had been failed plea negotiations indicating his guilt on charges filed. The proffered curative instruction stated: Mr. Kleypas has an absolute right to a jury trial under the constitution. The State of Kansas is responsible for the necessity of this case going to trial as the State has refused any attempt to resolve the matter short of a death sentence for Mr. Kleypas. In chambers before the start of voir dire, the trial court denied the motion, stating that it was the court's opinion that nothing untoward was conveyed to the jury by the court's opening comments. The fact that Kleypas offered to plead and the offer refused by the State was not known to the jury and until this point not known to the trial court. The court stated that in fact the curative instruction would convey to the jury that Kleypas had offered to plea and make a suggestion of guilt. This court analyzes jury orientation comments under the judicial misconduct standard of review. State v. Gadelkarim, 256 Kan. 671, 676, 887 P.2d 88 (1994). Under that standard: Allegations of judicial misconduct during trial must be decided on the particular facts and circumstances surrounding such alleged misconduct. In order to warrant or require the granting of a new trial, it must affirmatively appear that the conduct was of such a nature that it prejudiced the substantial rights of the complaining party. A mere possibility of prejudice from a remark of the judge is not sufficient to overturn a verdict or judgment. If a proper and reasonable construction will render the remark unobjectionable, the remark is not prejudicial. State v. Nguyen, 251 Kan. 69, Syl. ¶¶ 4, 5, 833 P.2d 937 (1992). 256 Kan. at 677. Kleypas contends the trial court's comments were prejudicial and required a mistrial or a curative instruction. As this did not occur, he believes a new trial is warranted. Kleypas argues the comment was prejudicial as it denigrated his constitutional right to a jury trial. He further argues that there was a reasonable likelihood that the jury construed the statement as an indication that Kleypas was responsible for the parties' inability to settle their controversies and implied there had been unsuccessful plea negotiations and, thus, an acknowledgment of guilt on the defendant's part, citing State v. Miller, 259 Kan. 478, 485-86, 912 P.2d 722 (1996). In Miller, before the trial court dismissed those venire members who were not seated on the jury, the court stated: `And I just want to tell you that we appreciate the fact you came in, because if we didn't have persons such as yourselves who were willing to take a day out of their lives to come down here to make up a jury panel for us, we'd never get juries. And the reality is that for every case we try, we end up handling nearly twenty of them without the necessity of a trial because people involved in the process know that citizens such as yourselves are willing to come down here and make up juries for us and that we have a system that will, in fact, work.' 259 Kan. at 485. Miller claimed that this comment denied him a fair and impartial trial. We held that Miller showed no prejudice from the remark and that the remark, read in context, did not suggest that Miller should have pled guilty, and found no error. 259 Kan. at 486. The trial court's brief statement was lifted from prepared general jury orientation comments. We conclude that the remarks of the trial judge in no way referred to, nor could even be inferred as referring to, anything specific in Kleypas' case. The remark was unobjectionable and not prejudicial. The trial court did not err in refusing to give the corrective instruction suggested by Kleypas. Issue 21. Alleged Batson Violation for Peremptory Strike of Juror Wheeler Kleypas argues that the State's peremptory strike of prospective juror Wheeler violated the United States Supreme Court decision in Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 90 L. Ed.2d 69, 106 S. Ct. 1712 (1986). He contends that the State struck Wheeler on the basis of gender and that the gender-neutral reasons given for the strikethat Wheeler's roommate was an alcoholic and that Wheeler had indicated that she was unsure whether the death penalty was a necessary punishmentwere unlawful reasons. Kleypas further argues that striking Wheeler because of her association with an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) disabilityqualified individual is in itself a Batson violation and cannot be a gender-neutral reason. Alcoholism meets the definition of a disability for ADA purposes. See Miners v. Cargill Communications, Inc., 113 F.3d 820, 823 n.5 (8th Cir. 1997); Senate Sergeant at Arms v. Senate Fair Emp. Pract., 95 F.3d 1102, 1105 (Fed. Cir. 1996). It is questionable whether Batson applies to ADA disabilities. See U. S. v. Santiago-Martinez, 58 F.3d 422, 423 (9th Cir. 1995). In Santiago-Martinez, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a peremptory strike based on obesity did not violate Batson even though obesity was a recognized disability for purposes of the ADA. The Ninth Circuit limited any Batson protection beyond gender and race to those classes to which heightened scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause would apply. 58 F.3d at 423. In so holding, the Ninth Circuit noted that the United States Supreme Court in J.E.B. v. Alabama ex rel. T.B., 511 U.S. 127, 128 L. Ed.2d 89, 114 S. Ct. 1419 (1994), had stated that [p]arties may ... exercise their peremptory challenges to remove from the venire any group ... subject to `rational basis' review. 58 F.3d at 423. See J.E.B., 511 U.S. at 143. It has been held that alcoholics are not a suspect or quasi-suspect class for equal protection analysis and are thus subject only to rational basis review. See Mitchell v. Commissioner of the Social Sec. Admin., 182 F.3d 272, 274 (4th Cir. 1999); Gazette v. City of Pontiac, 41 F.3d 1061, 1067 (6th Cir. 1994). Because alcoholism is subject only to a rational basis review under the Equal Protection Clause, Batson does not prohibit strikes based on alcoholism and Kleypas' argument in this respect fails. In State v. Edwards, 264 Kan. 177, 192-94, 955 P.2d 1276 (1998), we summarized the requirements of Batson and its progeny as follows: In Batson, the United States Supreme Court set out a framework designed to prevent the discriminatory exclusion of jurors on the basis of race. Under the Batson framework, the defendant must first make a prima facie case showing that the prosecutor has exercised peremptory challenges on the basis of race. Once such a showing has been made, the burden shifts to the prosecutor to articulate a race-neutral reason for striking the juror. The trial court must then determine whether the defendant has carried the burden of proving purposeful discrimination. See Hernandez v. New York, 500 U.S. 352, 358-59, 114 L. Ed.2d 395, 111 S. Ct. 1859 (1991). The Court in Batson found that in order to establish a prima facie case, the defendant must first show that he or she is a member of a cognizable racial group and that the prosecution has exercised peremptory challenges to remove from the venire members of the defendant's race. Batson, 476 U.S. at 96. The defendant is entitled to rely on the fact that peremptory challenges constitute a jury selection practice that permits those who are of a mind to discriminate to do so. The defendant must show that these facts and any other relevant circumstances raise an inference that the prosecutor used that practice to exclude jurors from the jury on account of their race. 476 U.S. at 96. This framework has been extended beyond the initial set of circumstances in Batson. In Powers v. Ohio, 499 U.S. 400, 113 L. Ed.2d 411, 111 S. Ct. 1364 (1991), the United States Supreme Court determined that the Batson framework extended to a challenge by a white defendant to the prosecutor's use of peremptory strikes to exclude prospective black jurors on the basis of race. In reaching this conclusion, the Court determined that the Equal Protection Clause prohibits the use of peremptory challenges to exclude otherwise qualified and unbiased persons from the jury panel solely by reason of their race and that a defendant has standing to raise the juror's equal protection claims. 499 U.S. at 409-15. Further, in J.E.B. v. Alabama ex rel. T.B., 511 U.S. 127, 128 L. Ed.2d 89, 114 S. Ct. 1419 (1994), the Court extended the Batson framework to prohibit discrimination based on gender. In so doing, the Court stated: `[T]he Equal Protection Clause prohibits discrimination in jury selection on the basis of gender, or on the assumption that an individual will be biased in a particular case for no reason other than the fact that the person happens to be a woman or happens to be a man. As with race, the core guarantee of equal protection, ensuring citizens that their State will not discriminate ..., would be meaningless were we to approve the exclusion of jurors on the basis of such assumptions, which arise solely from the jurors' [gender]. [Citation omitted.].' 511 U.S. at 146. These rulings have changed the requirements for the establishment of a prima facie case. The defendant need no longer establish that he or she is a member of a cognizable minority group since the focus is now on the individual rights of jury members not to be excluded on the basis of race or sex. See Powers v. Ohio, 499 U.S. at 415; J.E.B. v. Alabama ex rel. T.B., 511 U.S. at 140-41. Thus, in order to establish a prima facie case, the defendant need only show that the prosecution has exercised peremptory challenges to remove from the venire members of a certain race or gender and that these facts and any other relevant circumstances raise an inference that the prosecutor used that practice to exclude the jurors from the jury on account of their race or gender. Batson, 476 U.S. at 96. Kleypas contends that the alternate reason for striking Wheeler, that she was unsure whether the death penalty was an appropriate punishment in society, was insufficient. When asked on the juror questionnaire if the death penalty was a necessary punishment in our society, Wheeler had marked unsure. Later, on voir dire, Wheeler indicated that she could impose a sentence of death in an appropriate case. Kleypas contends that other jurors whom the State did not strike demonstrated a greater aversion to the death penalty. The ultimate question with regard to whether a Batson violation existed is whether the State has purposefully discriminated. State v. Walston, 256 Kan. 372, 381, 886 P.2d 349 (1994). Kleypas objected to the strike against Wheeler on the basis of gender. Certainly, the fact that the State struck Wheeler, a woman, due to her aversion to the death penalty, while leaving prospective male jurors who also indicated such an aversion is circumstantial evidence of discrimination. See Walston 256 Kan. at 381. However, the defendant failed to show at the Batson hearing that similar prospective male jurors were not struck. Therefore, the trial court did not err in finding that there was no discrimination. Kleypas' final argument with regard to the strike of Wheeler is that it was improper for the State to use its peremptory strike to remove Wheeler from the jury on the basis of her aversion to imposing the death penalty. However, appellate courts addressing this issue have found such a practice not to be improper. See Pitsonbarger v. Gramley, 141 F.3d 728 (7th Cir.), cert. denied 525 U.S. 984 (1998); Brown v. Dixon, 891 F.2d 490 (4th Cir. 1989), cert. denied 495 U.S. 953 (1990); Zuern v. Tate, 101 F. Supp.2d 948 (S.D. Ohio 2000); State v. Bolton, 182 Ariz. 290, 302, 896 P.2d 830 (1995); State v. King, 249 Conn. 645, 661-62, 735 A.2d 267 (1999); Manning v. State, 735 So.2d 323, 339 (Miss. 1999); State v. Bjorklund, 258 Neb. 432, 456, 604 N.W.2d 169 (2000); State v. Clark, 128 N.M. 119, 131, 990 P.2d 793 (1999). We hold that the trial court did not err in allowing the peremptory strike of prospective juror Wheeler. Issue 22. Cumulative Error in the Guilt Phase Kleypas argues that each of the above errors are independent grounds for reversal; however, if this court concludes that no single error requires reversal then the cumulative effect of all the errors requires reversal. We have recognized that cumulative trial errors may be so great as to require reversal of a defendant's conviction. See State v. Castoreno, 255 Kan. 401, 411, 874 P.2d 1173 (1994). The test is whether the totality of circumstances substantially prejudiced the defendant and denied him or her a fair trial. 255 Kan. at 411. State v. Carr, 265 Kan. 608, 625-26, 963 P.2d 421 (1998). Based upon the above analysis of the issues raised by Kleypas regarding the guilt phase, we conclude that under the totality of the circumstances, Kleypas was not denied a fair trial and there was no cumulative error sufficient to require reversal. Guilt PhaseConclusion Based upon our findings above, the defendant's convictions of capital murder, attempted rape, and aggravated burglary are affirmed.