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

Heading: part iiisentencing issues

Text: The final group of Kleypas' assigned errors arise during the penalty phase or separate sentencing proceeding under K.S.A. 21-4624(b). The jury determined that Kleypas should be sentenced to death. Given our interpretation of the weighing equation contained in K.S.A. 21-4624(e), Kleypas' sentence must be vacated and a new sentencing hearing conducted. However, we choose to address the sentencing issues raised by Kleypas that have the potential to reoccur in order to give guidance to the trial court for the new sentencing hearing. Therefore, we will analyze the following issues: State's Failure to Move for a Separate Sentencing Hearing Verdict Forms and Instructions Regarding the Verdict Admission of Circumstances Regarding Prior Conviction Failure to Allow Evidence of Prison Conditions Instruction on the Definition of Mitigation Whether the Penalty Phase Instructions Prevented the Jury from Considering Mitigating Circumstances Failure to Inform Jury of Sentences that Might be Imposed for Other Convictions Failure to Give Limiting Instruction Regarding Inconsistency Between Heinous, Atrocious, or Cruel Aggravating Manner Circumstance and Avoiding Arrest Aggravating Circumstance Prosecutorial Misconduct in the Penalty Phase Issue 35. State's Failure to Move for a Separate Sentencing Hearing Kleypas contends that the entire penalty phase of his trial is unlawful because the State failed to move for a separate sentencing proceeding upon his conviction as required by K.S.A. 21-4624(b). He argues that the State's failure to do so precludes the imposition of a death sentence. On July 25, 1997, the jury returned a verdict finding Kleypas guilty of capital murder. The trial court ordered the jury to return on July 29, 1997, for a capital sentencing proceeding. On July 29, 1997, immediately after the State's first witness was sworn, Kleypas objected to the proceeding and requested that the jury be discharged. He based his objection upon the State's failure to move under K.S.A. 21-4624(b) for a separate sentencing proceeding to determine whether he should be sentenced to death. The State argued that the required notice had been given at arraignment pursuant to K.S.A. 21-4624(a). In the alternative, the State orally moved pursuant to K.S.A. 21-4624(b) for a separate sentencing proceeding. The trial court overruled the objection, finding that notice had been given by the State. In relevant part, K.S.A. 21-4624(b) provides that 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. (Emphasis added.) It is important not to confuse this motion requirement with the notice requirements of K.S.A. 21-4624(a). A failure to comply with the following notice requirements of K.S.A. 21-4624(a) precludes the imposition of the death penalty: 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. (Emphasis added). The State filed its notice under the provisions of K.S.A. 21-4624(a). However, Kleypas correctly points out that the State failed to move for a separate sentencing proceeding after his conviction of capital murder under K.S.A. 21-4624(b) before the separate sentencing proceeding commenced. Does this failure invalidate the separate sentencing proceeding? Kleypas argues that the State's failure precludes the imposition of a death sentence and that he now must be sentenced by the court for a term of years. The State acknowledges its failure to comply with the motion provisions of K.S.A. 21-4624(b) but argues that this provision, unlike the mandatory notice provisions of K.S.A. 21-4624(a), is directory only. The question is one of law and our review is unlimited. State v. Lewis, 263 Kan. 843, 847, 953 P.2d 1016 (1998). The resolution of the issue involves a determination of whether the procedural language of K.S.A. 21-4624(b) is mandatory or directory. The criteria for determining whether a statute should be deemed mandatory or directory is established in State v. Deavers, 252 Kan. 149, 167, 843 P.2d 695 (1992), cert. denied 508 U.S. 978 (1993): Whether language in a statute is mandatory or directory is to be determined on a case-by-case basis and the criterion as to whether a requirement is mandatory or directory is whether compliance with such requirement is essential to preserve the rights of the parties. Griffin v. Rogers, 232 Kan. 168, 174, 653 P.2d 463 (1982). In determining whether a legislative provision is mandatory or directory, it is a general rule that where strict compliance with the provision is essential to the preservation of the rights of parties affected and to the validity of the proceeding, the provision is mandatory, but where the provision fixes a mode of proceeding and a time within which an official act is to be done, and is intended to secure order, system, and dispatch of the public business, the provision is directory. Factors which would indicate that the provisions of a statute or ordinance are mandatory are: (1) the presence of negative words requiring that an act shall be done in no other manner or at no other time than that designated, or (2) a provision for a penalty or other consequence of noncompliance. Paul v. City of Manhattan, 212 Kan. 381, Syl. ¶¶ 1, 2, 511 P.2d 244 (1973). We conclude that the motion requirement of K.S.A. 21-4624(b) is directory, not mandatory. The statute does not establish a specific time within which the prosecution's motion for a separate sentencing proceeding must be made; rather, the motion requirement is intended to secure the orderly and systematic dispatch of the public business. Unlike the notice provisions found in K.S.A. 21-4624(a), there are no provisions in K.S.A. 21-4624(b) for a penalty or other consequences with noncompliance. By its express language, K.S.A. 21-4624(b) fixes a mode of proceeding directing the State to move for a separate sentencing proceeding. The State's delay in so moving in this case caused no prejudice to the defendant. The trial court's denial of Kleypas' motion to set aside the sentencing proceeding was not error. Issue 36. Verdict Forms and Instructions Regarding the Verdict Kleypas argues that the verdict forms and the trial court's instructions concerning the verdict were improper in that they instructed the jury that a unanimous decision was required in order to impose a life sentence. He argues that this is contrary to Kansas law. We have reviewed the trial court's instructions concerning the verdict and the verdict forms provided to the jury and conclude that they are seriously deficient. We begin with a recitation of the statute regarding the verdict, K.S.A. 21-4624(e), which provides: If, by unanimous vote, the jury finds beyond a reasonable doubt that one or more of the aggravating circumstances enumerated in K.S.A. 21-4625 and amendments thereto exist and, further, that the existence of such aggravating circumstances is not outweighed by any mitigating circumstances which are found to exist, the defendant shall be sentenced to death; otherwise, the defendant shall be sentenced as provided by law. The jury, if its verdict is a unanimous recommendation of a sentence of death, shall designate in writing, signed by the foreman of the jury, the statutory aggravating circumstances which it found beyond a reasonable doubt. If, after a reasonable time for deliberation, the jury is unable to reach a verdict, the judge shall dismiss the jury and impose a sentence of imprisonment as provided by law and shall commit the defendant to the custody of the secretary of corrections. In nonjury cases, the court shall follow the requirements of this subsection in determining the sentence to be imposed. We note that pursuant to our decision regarding the weighing equation, the jury must find the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstances rather than that the aggravating circumstances are not outweighed by the mitigating circumstances. However, this does not affect the substance of our analysis of this issue. The major problem with the verdict form given lies not with its recitation of the weighing equation, although this statement is certainly incorrect given our construction of the weighing equation above. Rather, the major problem with the verdict form given is the manner in which it requires the jury to reach and report its decision. The sentencing proceeding under our capital murder scheme has but one purpose: To determine whether the defendant should be sentenced to death. See K.S.A. 21-4624(b). Under K.S.A. 21-4624, only two options are contemplated: Either the jury will unanimously agree beyond a reasonable doubt that one or more aggravating circumstances exist and further that such aggravating circumstance or circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstance or circumstances found to exist and it sentences the defendant to death; or the jury fails to so unanimously find and the defendant is not sentenced to death. The nature of this verdict is illustrated by our decision in State v. Stafford, 255 Kan. 807, 825, 878 P.2d 820 (1994), a hard 40 case under the pre-death penalty version of K.S.A. 21-4624. In Stafford, we examined a situation where the trial court excused a juror during sentencing deliberations on the grounds that the juror could not reach a decision. In finding this action to be reversible error, we noted: This case differs somewhat from prior cases in which a juror has been replaced. For a jury determining guilt, a hung jury results in the defendant being neither convicted nor acquitted; a hung jury leaves the case undecided and subject to retrial. In the hard 40 context, a hung jury is not an undecided jury. By statute, (K.S.A. 1993 Supp. 21-4624[5]), a hung jury results in a sentence of imprisonment for life with eligibility for parole. Thus, to replace a juror who may cause a jury to be unable to reach a unanimous vote to recommend the hard 40 sentence is to deprive the defendant of a verdict. Instruction No. 15, given by the trial court in this case, explained the two options to the jury, stating: At the conclusion of your deliberations, you shall sign the verdict form upon which you agree. The verdict forms provide the following alternative verdicts: A. Finding unanimously beyond a reasonable doubt that there are one or more aggravating circumstance(s) and that they [outweigh] any mitigating circumstance(s), and sentencing the defendant to death; or B. Reasonable doubt that aggravating circumstance(s) [outweigh] any mitigating circumstance(s) and that the defendant should be sentenced as provided by law by the Court. Instruction No. 15 informed the jury that it would be confronted with two verdict forms reflecting the two choices mandated by K.S.A. 21-4624(e): It would either unanimously find beyond a reasonable doubt that there are one or more aggravating circumstance(s) and that they [outweigh] any mitigating circumstance(s), in which case it would sign the verdict form sentencing the defendant to death and designate on the verdict form the aggravating circumstances found; or it would fail to make such a finding, in which case it would sign the verdict form indicating the defendant should not be sentenced to death. However, the verdict forms in this case did not give the jury those two options. The first verdict form stated: We, the jury, impaneled and sworn, do upon our oath, or affirmation, unanimously find beyond a reasonable doubt that the following aggravating circumstance(s) have been established by the evidence and [outweigh] any mitigating circumstance(s) found to exist. (The presiding juror shall place an X in the square in front of such aggravating circumstance(s) found to exist.) [ ] That the defendant was previously convicted of a felony in which the defendant inflicted great bodily harm, disfigurement, dismemberment or death on another. [ ] That the defendant committed the crime in order to avoid or prevent a lawful arrest or prosecution. [ ] That the defendant committed the crime in an especially heinous atrocious, or cruel manner as these terms are defined in Instruction No. 11. [A]nd so, therefore, unanimously sentence the defendant to death. Thus, the first verdict form accurately stated the first of the two choices. The problem, however, was with the second verdict form given to the jury which should have provided that it was to be signed if the jury did not unanimously find the existence of aggravating circumstances which outweighed any mitigating circumstances. Instead, the verdict form stated: We, the jury, impaneled and sworn, do upon our oath or affirmation, unanimously determine that a sentence as provided by law be imposed by the Court. Thus, the second verdict form erroneously informed the jury that it had to unanimously agree that a sentence other than death should be imposed. This is contrary to Kansas law and further directly contradicts Instruction No. 15. As noted above, K.S.A. 21-4624 does not require the jury to unanimously conclude that a death sentence is unwarranted in order to sentence the defendant to a punishment other than death; rather, the jury must only fail to unanimously conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that a death sentence is warranted. The verdict forms used in this case were taken directly from the Pattern Instructions for Kansas (PIK). See PIK Crim.3d 68.14-1; PIK Crim.3d 68.17. We have advised trial courts to follow PIK and for good reason. `The pattern instructions have been developed by a knowledgeable committee to bring accuracy, clarity, and uniformity to jury instructions.' State v. Dias, 263 Kan. 331, 335, 949 P.2d 1093 (1997). However, the second verdict form used in this case, as provided for in the PIK, was inaccurate in that it failed to reflect the law in Kansas. The verdict form was also unclear in that it failed to inform the jury what it should do if it did not reach a unanimous verdict for death or a unanimous verdict for life. The verdict form was confusing in that it directly contradicted jury Instruction No. 15, which informed the jury what the verdict form should contain. The verdict form was inconsistent with Kansas law and was misleading and confusing. Kleypas brought this problem with the verdict form to the trial court's attention at the sentencing hearing. The trial court recognized that a problem existed and attempted to cure the problem by issuing an additional instruction which informed the jury that if it failed to reach a verdict, Kleypas would be sentenced as provided by law. This is similar to the instruction used by the court in Washington in In re Personal Restraint of Benn, 134 Wash.2d 868, 952 P.2d 116 (1998). In Benn, the jury was given a verdict form which asked the question: Having in mind the crime of which the defendant has been found guilty, are you convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that there are not sufficient mitigating circumstances to merit leniency? The jury was then provided with three options: YES, NO, and THE JURY IS UNABLE TO UNAIMOUSLY AGREE. 134 Wash.2d at 929. The Washington Supreme Court found that because the verdict form gave the jury the option of a nonunanimous verdict, the challenged instruction was constitutional. 134 Wash.2d at 932. In contrast to Benn, the corrective jury instruction in the case at hand was just an instruction. The verdict form itself still did not give the jury a method by which it could register a nonunanimous verdict. It is clear that under Kansas law, one juror has the ability to negate the imposition of the death penalty by having a reasonable doubt about its propriety. See K.S.A. 21-4624(e) (unanimity required to impose the death penalty). However, under the verdict form used in this case, a juror was unable to register his or her reasonable doubt. Even though the trial court informed the jury that its failure to reach a unanimous verdict would result in the imposition of a sentence other than death, the verdict form provided no way for the jury to return other than a unanimous verdict. The sole purpose of the penalty phase is to determine whether the defendant should be sentenced to death. The erroneous verdict form affected the very heart of this decision because it incorrectly stated the standard that the jury was to apply in considering its decision. Under such circumstances, the verdict form materially prejudiced Kleypas' right to a fair trial. Had we not already determined that a new sentencing hearing was required, the use of this jury instruction would also require vacating of Kleypas' death sentence and remanding for a new penalty phase hearing. See Kubat v. Thieret, 867 F.2d 351, 372-74 (7th Cir. 1989); State v. Brooks, 75 Ohio St.3d 148, 162, 661 N.E.2d 1030 (1996). In accordance with our decision, we further hold that the following second verdict form should be used in addition to the first verdict form in all death penalty cases in Kansas, replacing PIK Crim.3d 68.17: CAPITAL MURDERSENTENCE OF DEATHVERDICT FORM FOR SENTENCE AS PROVIDED BY LAW SENTENCING VERDICT We, the jury, impaneled and sworn, do upon our oath or affirmation state that we are unable to reach a unanimous verdict sentencing the defendant to death. Such an instruction accurately reflects the law in Kansas and the responsibility of the jury. The instruction does not confuse the jury concerning any need for a decision regarding life to be unanimous. Implicit within the verdict form is the concept that a single juror may block a death verdict and the verdict form allows a juror to give effect to his or her determination that death is not an appropriate sentence. Issue 37. Admission of Circumstances Regarding Prior Conviction Kleypas argues that the trial court erred in allowing evidence of the circumstances underlying his 1977 conviction for the murder of Bessie Lawrence. He contends that such evidence violated the provisions of K.S.A. 21-4625(1), as well as his Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights under the United States Constitution and his rights under §§ 9 and 18 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights. Kleypas filed a motion to limit the production of evidence of the prior conviction aggravating circumstance to the admission of the journal entry of the conviction. After a comprehensive consideration of case law, the court ruled that although it would not allow the prior second-degree murder conviction to be relitigated, some of the underlying circumstances of the prior conviction would be admitted into evidence subject to the court's discretion on a witness by witness basis. Kleypas offered to stipulate that he was previously convicted of second-degree murder and that this conviction was a felony in which he inflicted death on another. However, the trial court refused to force the State to accept the stipulation. K.S.A. 21-4625 identifies and limits what the State may prove as aggravating circumstances during the penalty phase of a capital murder case. The aggravating circumstance we now consider allows the State to establish that [t]he defendant was previously convicted of a felony in which the defendant inflicted great bodily harm, disfigurement, dismemberment or death on another. K.S.A. 21-4625(1). Kleypas argues that the facts and circumstances underlying his 1977 murder conviction are irrelevant and inflammatory. He interprets K.S.A. 21-4625(1) to allow only the fact of the prior conviction to prove the aggravating circumstance, and that once he offered to stipulate to this circumstance, any other information concerning the murder was not relevant. According to Kleypas, the State should have been forced to accept his stipulation, citing Old Chief v. United States, 519 U.S. 172, 136 L. Ed.2d 574, 117 S. Ct. 644 (1997). In Old Chief, the defendant was convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon, use of a firearm, and possession of a firearm by anyone with a prior felony conviction. Before trial, he moved for an order requiring the government to limit its evidence to a statement that Old Chief had been convicted of a felony. He offered to stipulate that he had been convicted of a prior felony. The government refused to accept the stipulation, insisting on its right to prove the case its own way. The district court agreed with the government and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed. The United States Supreme Court, however, reversed: [T]he scope of a trial judge's discretion under Rule 403, ... authorizes exclusion of relevant evidence when its `probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence.' Fed. Rule Evid. 403. 519 U.S. at 180. The Court pointed to the real risk of unfair prejudice, noting that such a risk will be substantial whenever the official record offered by the Government would be arresting enough to lure a juror into a sequence of bad character reasoning. Where a prior conviction was for a gun crime or one similar to other charges in a pending case the risk of unfair prejudice would be especially obvious.... 519 U.S. at 185. In order to mitigate against this risk, the Court concluded: Given these peculiarities of the element of felony-convict status and of admissions and the like when used to prove it, there is no cognizable difference between the evidentiary significance of an admission and of the legitimately probative component of the official record the prosecution would prefer to place in evidence. For purposes of the Rule 403 weighing of the probative against the prejudicial, the functions of the competing evidence are distinguishable only by the risk inherent in the one and wholly absent from the other. In this case, as in any other in which the prior conviction is for an offense likely to support conviction on some improper ground, the only reasonable conclusion was that the risk of unfair prejudice did substantially outweigh the discounted probative value of the record of conviction, and it was an abuse of discretion to admit the record when an admission was available. 519 U.S. at 191. Before addressing the merits of Kleypas' claimed error, some background of how aggravating circumstances fit within Kansas' scheme of capital punishment is necessary. Kansas' statutory death penalty is similar to that of Florida; those states having a similar statutory scheme are sometimes referred to as the Florida type in that they limit the aggravating circumstances that a sentencing jury or a judge may consider to a statutory list. See National Judicial College and Conference of State Trial Judges, Capital Cases Benchbook, 6-2 (1994); K.S.A. 21-4625. Because the Florida scheme limits the aggravating circumstances to be considered, evidence of prior criminal history is relevant under that scheme only insofar as it goes to either establishing a statutory aggravating circumstance or rebutting a mitigating one. Among those states which follow the Florida sentencing scheme, there is a difference of opinion as to whether testimony regarding the underlying circumstances of a defendant's prior conviction may be admitted to prove an aggravating circumstance where the defendant offers to stipulate to the aggravating circumstance. See Rhodes v. State, 547 So.2d 1201 (Fla. 1989); State v. Gillies, 135 Ariz. 500, 662 P.2d 1007 (1983); People v. Davis, 794 P.2d 159 (Colo. 1990); State v. Rose, 339 N.C. 172, 451 S.E.2d 211 (1994); Brewer v. State, 650 P.2d 54 (Okla. Crim. App. 1982); Com. v. Rompilla, 554 Pa. 378, 721 A.2d 786 (1998); State v. Gaskins, 284 S.C. 105, 326 S.E.2d 132 (1985); State v. Bigbee, 885 S.W.2d 797 (Tenn. 1994). In Gillies, the Arizona Supreme Court held that testimony was not admissible to establish the then-aggravating circumstance that the defendant had been previously convicted of a felony involving the use or threat of violence on another person (since changed to a serous offense). 135 Ariz. at 511. The court instead found that the evidence should be limited to evidence of the conviction itself: This reading of the statute guarantees due process to a criminal defendant. Evidence of a prior conviction is reliable, the defendant having had his trial and exercised his full panoply of rights which accompany his conviction. However, to drag in a victim of appellant's prior crime to establish the necessary element of violence outside the presence of a jury, long after a crime has been committed, violates the basic tenants of due process. ... We cannot allow what is, in effect, a second trial on defendant's prior conviction to establish the existence of an A.R.S. § 13-703(F)(2) aggravating circumstance. 135 Ariz. at 511. Oklahoma has judicially established a procedure for the admission of evidence to prove its aggravating circumstance that the defendant was previously convicted of a felony involving the use or threat of violence. See Brewer, 650 P.2d at 63. In Brewer, the Oklahoma Supreme Court stated: We therefore hold that the following must be the procedure concerning the State's allegation of 21 O.S. 1981, § 701.12(1) in this and all future capital cases: First, as mandated by § 701.10 the defendant must be given due notice of all evidence in aggravation the State intends to present; second, the judge must review the evidence proffered by the State in support of its allegation in camera to ensure that the felonies did indeed involve the use or threat of violence to a person; third, upon a finding by the court that the prior felony convictions did involve the use or threat of violence to the person, the defendant must be given the opportunity to personally stipulate that the prior felony conviction(s) alleged by the state did involve the use or threat of violence to a person. Counsel for the defendant must not be allowed to stipulate for him. The judge must satisfy himself that the defendant understands and appreciates the nature of the proposed stipulation and the consequences potentially arising from either an agreement or a refusal to stipulate before he may accept the defendant's decision. If the defendant stipulates, the State's proof of the aggravating circumstances must be limited to introduction of the judgment and sentence in the prior felonies along with the defendant's written stipulation that the felonies involved the use or threat of violence to the person. If the defendant refuses to so stipulate, the State shall be permitted to produce evidence sufficient to prove that the prior felonies did involve the use or threat of violence to the person. We emphasize that prosecutors and trial courts should exercise informed discretion in permitting only the minimal amount of evidence to support the aggravating circumstances. We do not today authorize the State to re-try defendants for past crimes during the sentencing stage of capital cases. 650 P.2d at 63. Similarly, the Tennessee Supreme Court held: Evidence of facts regarding a previous conviction to show that it in fact involved violence or the threat of violence to the person is admissible at a sentencing hearing in order to establish the aggravating circumstance. [Citations omitted.] However, it is not appropriate to admit evidence regarding specific facts of the crime resulting in the previous conviction, when the conviction on its face shows that it involved violence or threat of violence to the person. [Citations omitted.] Bigbee, 885 S.W.2d at 811. The Tennessee Supreme Court in Bigbee noted that while evidence regarding the victim of the crime for which the defendant is being sentenced is relevant, evidence regarding the victim of a prior crime is not. 885 S.W.2d at 811-12. Florida, as well as several other jurisdictions, has concluded otherwise. In Rhodes, the Florida Supreme Court set forth the following principles governing the admission of evidence to show a statutory aggravating circumstance that a defendant had been previously convicted of a violent felony: [I]t is appropriate in the penalty phase of a capital trial to introduce testimony concerning the details of any prior felony conviction involving the use or threat of violence to the person rather than the bare admission of conviction. [Citations omitted.] Testimony concerning the events which resulted in the conviction assist the jury in evaluating the character of the defendant and the circumstances of the crime so that the jury can make an informed recommendation as to the appropriate sentence. .... [T]he line must be drawn when that testimony is not relevant, gives rise to a violation of a defendant's confrontational rights, or the prejudicial value outweighs the probative value. 547 So.2d at 1204-05. Colorado, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina also allow evidence of some of the underlying circumstances of the prior crime where such crime is a statutory aggravating circumstance. Colorado has held that such evidence is part of the relevant evidence concerning the nature of the crime, [and] the character, background, and history of the defendant which it is statutorily allowed to receive under Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 16-11-103(1)(b). Davis, 794 P.2d at 202. Pennsylvania has held that the underlying facts of the prior conviction are relevant to allow the jury to assess the weight to be given to the aggravating factor. Rompilla, 554 Pa. at 394. South Carolina allows such evidence because the `consideration of the character and record of the individual offender and the circumstances of the particular offense [are] a constitutional indispensable part of the process of inflicting the penalty of death.' Gaskins, 284 S.C. at 124 (quoting Woodson v. North Carolina, 428 U.S. 280, 49 L. Ed.2d 944, 96 S. Ct. 2978 [1976]). K.S.A. 21-4624(c) provides: 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. This language is very similar to the statute in Colorado which the Colorado Supreme Court interpreted to allow the admission of the underlying circumstances of prior violent felonies in Davis. See 794 P.2d at 202. The above language is not included in the capital sentencing statutes of Arizona and Oklahoma. See Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 13-703; Okla. Stat., tit. 21, § 701.10 (1991), which might contribute to their Supreme Courts excluding such evidence. However, Tennessee's statute contains the same language and its Supreme Court excludes such evidence. See Tenn. Code. Ann. § 39-13-204. While there is merit in the position of the jurisdictions excluding such evidence where the defendant offers to stipulate, we are called upon to interpret the specific language of our legislature. We conclude that the Kansas Legislature intended by its use of the broad language in K.S.A. 21-4625 to allow some evidence of the underlying circumstances of prior convictions where the convictions constitute aggravating circumstances. This conclusion is consistent with the Kansas statutory scheme which requires that the sentencing jury in a capital proceeding actually weigh the aggravating circumstances against the mitigating circumstances in determining whether a defendant should be sentenced to death. The weighing process in Kansas is more than a simple comparison of the number of aggravating circumstances to the number of mitigating circumstances. The quality as well as the quantity of the aggravating and mitigating circumstances is relevant to allow the jury to assess the weight to be given to the aggravating factor. See Rompilla, 554 Pa. at 394. A defendant with a prior history which includes a heinous crime is perhaps more worthy of death than a defendant who committed a crime which was not heinous. As stated by the Florida Supreme Court, in concluding that evidence concerning the underlying circumstances of the prior conviction was admissible: This is so because we believe the purpose for considering aggravating and mitigating circumstances is to engage in a character analysis of the defendant to ascertain whether the ultimate penalty is called for in his or her particular case. Propensity to commit violent crimes surely must be a valid consideration for the jury and the judge. It is a matter that can contribute to decisions as to sentence which will lead to uniform treatment and help eliminate `total arbitrariness and capriciousness in the imposition of the death penalty.' Elledge v. State, 346 So. 2d 998, 1001 (Fla. 1997) (quoting Proffitt v. Florida, 428 U.S. 242, 49 L. Ed.2d 913, 96 S. Ct. 2960 [1976]). See also State v. Taylor, 304 N.C. 249, 280, 283 S.E.2d 761 (1981) (quoting passage from Elledge to support its decision reaching same result). We agree and hold that the State is permitted to introduce evidence regarding the underlying circumstances of the prior crime to satisfy the aggravating circumstance contained in K.S.A. 21-4625(1), notwithstanding a defendant's offer to stipulate to the existence of the aggravating circumstance. However, trial courts must be cautious in the admission of such evidence and exclude evidence that is not relevant, that violates a defendant's confrontational rights, or that has a prejudicial effect outweighing its probative value. We conclude that the evidence admitted in this case did not constitute prejudicial error. Issue 38. Failure to Allow Evidence of Prison Conditions Kleypas contends that the trial court erred by refusing to allow evidence of the conditions of future incarceration and the testimony of the Secretary of Corrections as to what life would be like for Kleypas in prison. Kleypas argues that this refusal violated his Eighth Amendment rights as the evidence would have constituted mitigating evidence by showing that prison would be a highly structured environment. Approximately 7 months before trial commenced, Kleypas moved for the admission of evidence regarding the conditions and effects of a life sentence in the Kansas correctional system. Kleypas also attempted to subpoena the Secretary of Corrections in an effort to obtain and provide information about what life would be like for Kleypas in prison. Approximately 3 months before trial commenced, the trial court denied the motion and also quashed the subpoena for the Secretary of Corrections to appear and testify regarding prison life. The trial court excluded the evidence based upon its conclusion that the evidence was not proper mitigating evidence because it did not bear on the individual characteristics of the defendant. Two other states have recently reached a similar conclusion. See People v. Ervin, 22 Cal. 4th 48, 97, 91 Cal. Rptr.2d 623, 990 P.2d 506 (2000); Cherrix v. Commonwealth, 257 Va. 292, 309-310, 513 S.E.2d 642 (1999). In Cherrix, the defendant sought to introduce mitigating evidence through the testimony of an expert penologist, several Virginia corrections officials, a criminologist, a sociologist, and an individual serving a life sentence in the custody of the Virginia Department of Corrections regarding prison life and its effect on his future dangerousness. Finding that the trial court did not err in excluding the evidence, the Virginia Supreme Court stated: Although the United States Constitution guarantees the defendant in a capital case a right to present mitigating evidence to the sentencing authority, it does not limit `the traditional authority of a court to exclude, as irrelevant, evidence not bearing on the defendant's character, prior record, or the circumstances of his offense.' Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U.S. 586, 605 n.12 (1978). Code § 19.2-264.4(B) vests the trial court with the discretion to determine, subject to the rules of evidence governing admissibility, the evidence which may be adduced in mitigation of the offense. [Citation omitted.] The record shows that the evidence Cherrix sought to introduce involved the general nature of prison life. The inmate's proffered testimony sought to establish, based on the inmate's personal prison experience, what prison life would be like for Cherrix if he received a life sentence. The officials from the Department of Corrections would have testified regarding the ability of the penal system to contain Cherrix and the cost to the taxpayers of an inmate's life sentence. Cherrix's counsel stated that the testimony of the expert penologist, the sociologist, and the criminologist would be similar to that of the inmate and corrections officials. As the trial court observed, none of this evidence concerns the history or experience of the defendant. We agree with the conclusion of the trial court that `what a person may expect in the penal system' is not relevant mitigation evidence. Accordingly, we will affirm the judgment of the trial court excluding this evidence. 257 Va. at 309-10. The Cherrix court did note, however: Contrary to Cherrix's assertion, none of the evidence proffered at trial addressed Cherrix's ability to conform or his experience in conforming to prison life, as the defendant's evidence did in Skipper [v. South Carolina], 476 U.S. at 4. 257 Va. at 310 n.4. Kleypas argues that evidence of prison life was essential as part of his presentation of mitigating evidence that he would adapt well to life in prison. According to Kleypas, his presentation of this mitigating circumstance was doomed to failure without this evidence because although he could present evidence that he would function well in a highly structured prison environment, this would not overcome the generally held perspective that prison was not a highly structured environment but, rather, a country club. The essence of Kleypas' argument is not that evidence of prison conditions was a mitigating circumstance but, rather, that it was necessary to allow him to establish the mitigating circumstance that he would do well in prison. Evidence that a defendant is well behaved in prison and will in the future be well behaved is a mitigating circumstance. Skipper v. South Carolina, 476 U.S. 1, 4-5, 90 L. Ed.2d 1, 106 S. Ct. 1669 (1986) (stating that evidence that a defendant would not pose a danger if spared [but incarcerated] must be considered potentially mitigating.). However, the evidence that Kleypas sought to present, the general conditions of prison life, is too far removed to be relevant as a mitigating circumstance. Such evidence might be admissible in rebuttal to counter actual evidence produced by the State showing that life in prison is in fact easy. See Solomon, A Quarter-Century of Death: A Symposium on Capital Punishment in Virginia Since Furman v. Georgia, 12 Cap. Def. J. 555 (1999) (noting that the rejection of the Eighth Amendment mitigation argument in no way effects the Fourteenth Amendment argument that the evidence may be used to rebut prosecutorial assertions). We note that counsel for the defendant did not seek to introduce such evidence in rebuttal but sought its admission on the grounds that it was proper mitigating evidence. The trial court did not err in excluding this evidence. Issue 39. Instruction on the Definition of Mitigation Kleypas contends that jury Instruction No. 13, defining mitigating circumstances, impermissibly allowed the jury to reject alleged mitigating circumstances without first considering the evidence in favor of the circumstances and that this is contrary to the Eighth Amendment, as well as the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. As we have noted previously when reviewing challenges to jury instructions, this court is required to consider all the instructions together, read as a whole, and not to isolate any one instruction. If the instructions properly and fairly state the law as applied to the facts of the case and a jury could not reasonably be misled by them, the instructions do not constitute reversible error even if they are in some way erroneous. State v. Mims, 264 Kan. 506, 514, 956 P.2d 1337 (1998). Instruction No. 13 defined mitigating circumstances: Mitigating circumstances are those which in fairness may be considered as extenuating or reducing the degree of moral culpability or blame or which justified a sentence of less than death, although it does not justify or excuse the offense. The determination of what are mitigating circumstances is for you as jurors to resolve under the facts and circumstance of this case. Kleypas argues that the above language, particularly the last sentence, unconstitutionally allows the jury to determine what qualifies as a mitigating circumstance. Kleypas argues that under the Eighth Amendment, the jury must consider each claimed mitigating circumstance and the evidence to support it. According to Kleypas, the jury is free to find that no evidence supports such a circumstance or to give little, if any, weight to a circumstance, but the jury is not free to find that the circumstance is not a mitigating circumstance. In support of this contention, Kleypas cites Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U.S. 586, 57 L. Ed.2d 973, 98 S. Ct. 2954 (1978), and its progeny, including Eddings v. Oklahoma, 455 U.S. 104, 71 L. Ed.2d 1, 102 S. Ct. 869 (1982), and Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 106 L. Ed.2d 256, 109 S. Ct. 2934 (1989). Kleypas misinterprets the above cases. In Johnson v. Texas, 509 U.S. 350, 361, 125 L. Ed.2d 290, 113 S. Ct. 2658 (1993), the Court made clear: `Lockett and its progeny stand only for the proposition that a State may not cut off in an absolute manner the presentation of mitigating evidence, either by statute or judicial instruction, or by limiting the inquiries to which it is relevant so severely that the evidence could never be a part of the sentencing decision at all.' [Citations omitted.] Nothing in Lockett or any of its progeny require that a jury consider all possible mitigating circumstances; rather, they simply preclude the State from foreclosing such consideration. The sentencer may not refuse to consider, as a matter of law, relevant mitigating evidence. Eddings, 455 U.S. at 114. However, the sentencer is free to conclude that some circumstances claimed to be mitigating are not mitigating circumstances. Eddings only precludes the sentencer from determining that it may not legally consider certain mitigating circumstances evidence. See 455 U.S. at 113-15. In Eddings, the sentencing judge determined that he was prevented by law from considering the petitioner's violent upbringing as a mitigating circumstance. The Court found that this restriction violated Lockett, as evidence of the petitioner's upbringing was relevant as a mitigating circumstance. 455 U.S. at 112-15. In Buchanan v. Angelone, 522 U.S. 269, 275-76, 139 L. Ed.2d 702, 118 S. Ct. 757 (1998), the Court held that the Eighth Amendment does not require that the jury be instructed that certain facts are mitigating. Complete jury discretion with regards to mitigating circumstances evidence is constitutionally permissible. Thus, a jury is free to determine for itself what circumstances it chooses to be mitigating and whether the evidence of those circumstances is sufficient. Instruction No. 13 did not restrict the jury's discretion to find the existence of mitigating circumstances or foreclose the jury's consideration of mitigating evidence. It expressly listed the 31 circumstances claimed as mitigating circumstances by Kleypas and further instructed that the jury may further consider as a mitigating circumstance(s) any other aspect of the defendant's character, background, or record, and any other aspect of the offense which was presented in either the guilt or penalty phase and that you find to be relevant. The trial court's instruction properly and fairly stated the law and provides no basis for a claimed constitutional deprivation. Issue 40. Whether the Penalty Phase Instructions Prevented the Jury from Considering Mitigating Circumstances. Kleypas argues that the instructions given prevented the jury from considering any mitigating circumstance that the jury did not unanimously find existed. He contends that under the instructions as given, the sentencing jury could reasonably have determined that it must unanimously agree on the existence of mitigating circumstances. In Mills v. Maryland, 486 U.S. 367, 100 L. Ed.2d 384, 108 S. Ct. 1860 (1988), the United States Supreme Court vacated the petitioner's death sentence because it found that the verdict form had potentially prevented the jury from considering relevant mitigating evidence that the jury did not unanimously find to exist. The Court found that the verdict form suggested to the jury that it had to unanimously find each mitigating circumstance. The Court stated that, hypothetically, under the verdict form: `If eleven jurors agree that there are six mitigating circumstances, the result is that no mitigating circumstance is found. Consequently, there is nothing to weigh against any aggravating circumstance found and the judgment is death even though eleven jurors think the death penalty wholly inappropriate.' 486 U.S. at 373-74. The Court further found that, hypothetically, all 12 jurors might agree that some mitigating circumstances were present and even that those mitigating circumstances were sufficient to outweigh any aggravating circumstances found to exist, but unless all 12 could agree that the same mitigating circumstance was present, the jury would never be permitted to engage in the weighing process. 486 U.S. at 374. The Court thus concluded that a death sentence should be vacated if there was a substantial probability that reasonable jurors, upon receiving the judge's instructions and attempting to complete the verdict form based on those instructions, may have thought that they could only consider those mitigating circumstances which they unanimously found to exist. 486 U.S. at 376-77. If the jurors were led to believe that they could not each individually consider certain mitigating circumstances because there was not unanimous agreement as to the existence of those circumstances, then some jurors were prevented from considering `factors which may call for a less severe penalty,' Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U.S., at 605, and petitioner's sentence cannot stand. 486 U.S. at 376. See also Frey v. Fulcomer, 132 F.3d 916, 920 (3rd Cir. 1997), cert. denied 524 U.S. 911 (1998). The decision in Mills was reaffirmed in McKoy v. North Carolina, 494 U.S. 433, 108 L. Ed.2d 369, 110 S. Ct. 1227 (1990). In McKoy, the Court held that it is unconstitutional to require a mitigating circumstance to be found unanimously. 494 U.S. at 443-44. In the case we now consider, the parties and the court during an instruction conference discussed Mills in the attempt to satisfy its requirement. The parties agreed to the following instruction, which became Instruction No. 12: It is not necessary that all jurors agree upon particular facts and circumstances in mitigation of punishment. If you as a juror determine that there are facts or circumstances in mitigation of punishment sufficient to outweigh the evidence of aggravating circumstances, then you must not return a verdict of death. Kleypas advances the following synopsis in his brief before this court: In order to clarify this cryptic instruction [Instruction No. 12], defense counsel proposed that the jury be charged: `Each individual juror shall weigh the aggravating circumstance found unanimously to exist against any mitigating circumstances found by the that individual juror to exist.' The trial court denied this instruction. This synopsis is misleading. Kleypas proffered his instruction not to clarify the [previous] cryptic instruction but, rather, prior to the adoption of Instruction No. 12. After the parties agreed on Instruction No. 12, the court denied Kleypas' requested instruction because it was already covered under Instruction No. 12. Kleypas made no objection to this denial. Thus, instead of objecting to Instruction No. 12 as claimed in his brief, Kleypas agreed and helped fashion the language of Instruction No. 12 to replace his proposed instruction. Because of the discussion and holding set forth in issue 23 that it is constitutionally impermissible to mandate the death penalty where the jury finds that the aggravating and mitigating circumstances are in equipoise, it is likewise necessary to disapprove and hold improper the language of the second sentence of instruction No. 12 that states: If you as a juror determine that there are facts or circumstances in mitigation of punishment sufficient to outweigh the evidence of aggravating circumstances, then you must not return a verdict of death. This language erroneously instructs the jury that before it could not return a verdict of death it would have to find the mitigating facts or circumstances outweigh the aggravating facts and circumstances. The first sentence of instruction No. 12, It is not necessary that all jurors agree upon particular facts and circumstances in mitigation of punishment, is a correct statement of law and satisfies the Mills and McKoy requirements. Whether this sentence goes far enough by itself can only be determined by examining the other instructions relating to consideration by the jury of the aggravating and mitigating facts and circumstances. But, any instruction dealing with the consideration of mitigating circumstances should state (1) they need to be proved only to the satisfaction of the individual juror in the juror's sentencing decision and not beyond a reasonable doubt and (2) mitigating circumstances do not need to be found by all members of the jury in order to be considered in an individual juror's sentencing decision. The three cases cited by Kleypas and amicus curiae the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Frey v. Fulcomer, 132 F.3d 916, 922-23 (3d Cir. 1997), cert. denied 524 U.S. 911 (1998); Kordenbrock v. Scroggy, 919 F.2d 1091 (6th Cir. 1990) (en banc); and Kubat v. Thieret, 867 F.2d 351 (7th Cir. 1989), are claimed to show that Instruction No. 8 (unanimous beyond a reasonable doubt burden on the State as to aggravating circumstances), Instruction No. 12, and Instruction No. 15 (verdict form provision discussed in issue No. 36) emphasize the requirement of unanimity regarding the aggravating circumstances while failing to clarify the distinction between the standard for mitigating and aggravating circumstances results in a jury likely to believe it must be unanimous in its finding of mitigating circumstances. This was clearly not the import of the first sentence of Instruction No. 12, but we briefly discuss the holdings of the three cases cited to us. In Frey, the court instructed that jury: The Crimes Code provides that the verdict must be a sentence of death if the jury unanimously finds at least one aggravating circumstance and no mitigating circumstance, or if the jury unanimously finds one or more aggravating circumstances which outweigh any mitigating circumstances. 13 F.3d at 922. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals found that it was reasonably likely that the jury would conclude from this instruction that it had to unanimously find mitigating circumstances, especially where other instructions expressly referenced unanimous requirement for aggravating circumstances but made no mention that the requirement for mitigating circumstances was different. 132 F.3d at 922-24. In Kordenbrock, the trial court expressly instructed the jury that aggravating circumstances had to be found beyond a reasonable doubt but made no mention of the standard for mitigating circumstances. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, en banc, found that this violated Mills because it created a likelihood that the jurors would interpret the instructions to require them to also find mitigating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt. 919 F.2d at 1109-10. Similarly, in Kubat, the court's instructions emphasized unanimity and did not inform the jurors that mitigating circumstances did not have to be found beyond a reasonable doubt, thus violating Mills. 867 F.2d at 372-73. In contrast to these three cases, the jury in this case was specifically instructed by the first sentence of instruction No. 12 that unanimity was not required with regard to mitigating circumstances. Frey, Kordenbrock, and Kubat do not support Kleypas' argument. While we disapprove of the second sentence of Instruction No. 12, the first sentence of the agreed-upon instruction was sufficient to address the concern that the jury might believe that unanimity was required as to mitigating circumstances. It explicitly instructed the jury that it need not be unanimous as to mitigating facts and circumstances. As a result, we hold there was no error in failing to give Kleypas' requested instruction, the first sentence of Instruction No. 12 is approved, and the second sentence of Instruction No. 12 is disapproved. Issue 41. Failure to Inform Jury of Sentences that Might be Imposed for Other Convictions Kleypas argues that the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury as to the length of the sentence that would be imposed for the murder absent a death sentence, and also erred in failing to instruct the jury that he would be sentenced for two additional felonies which could be run consecutively to the murder conviction. Kleypas also argues that the trial court should have informed the jury as to the exact total term of imprisonment to which he would have been sentenced absent a death sentence. In Simmons v. South Carolina, 512 U.S. 154, 168-71, 129 L. Ed. 2d 133, 114 S. Ct. 2187 (1994), the United States Supreme Court held that it was unconstitutional to deny the defendant's request to instruct the jury that he would not be eligible for parole where the State had attempted to argue that the defendant should be put to death because of his future dangerousness. The Court found that the denial of such an instruction effectively prevented the defendant from rebutting the State's argument. 512 U.S. at 161-62. The problem with Kleypas' argument, at least with regard to the length of the sentence that would be imposed for the murder absent a death sentence, is that Kleypas' counsel objected to just such an instruction at trial. The trial court offered to give an instruction that Kleypas would be sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility in 25 years or, at the discretion of the judge, might be sentenced to the hard 40. The defense felt that there was really no possibility of life with parole eligibility in 25 years and refused to have the jury instructed on the subject. Thus, any error of the court on this subject was invited by Kleypas and cannot now be complained of on appeal. See State v. Borman, 264 Kan. 476, 480, 956 P.2d 1325 (1998). Kleypas also argues that the jury should have been instructed on the sentences he would receive for his other felony convictions. In support of this contention, he cites cases from other jurisdictions which he claims have done so: State v. Loftin, 146 N.J. 295, 680 A.2d 677 (1996); Clark v. Tansy, 118 N.M. 486, 882 P.2d 527 (1994); and Berry v. State, 575 So.2d 1 (Miss. 1990). However, Clark and Berry do not substantively support Kleypas' argument. Clark stands only for the proposition that the jury be informed as to the length of incarceration facing the defendant either by way of a defendant's rebuttal arguments or by instruction from the court if the defendant so requests. 118 N.M. at 492-93. See Simmons, 512 U.S. at 168-69. Berry holds that where the defendant's prior crimes will designate him a habitual criminal and thus make him ineligible for parole, the habitual criminal hearing should be held and the jury advised of this fact before deliberations on the death sentence begin. 575 So.2d at 13-14. Loftin, along with State v. Martini, 131 N.J. 176, 619 A.2d 1208 (1993), cert. denied 519 U.S. 1063 (1997), set up a system in New Jersey in which the court is required to instruct on the potential sentences a defendant will receive for convictions arising from the same trial as the capital-murder conviction. Martini, 131 N.J. at 313. Courts in New Jersey are also required to instruct the jury if there is a reasonable likelihood that consecutive sentences will be imposed on the non-capital counts. Loftin, 146 N.J. at 372. Instructions such as those required in New Jersey are not mandated by Simmons. See 512 U.S. at 168-71. Further, the length of incarceration to be served by the defendant before parole eligibility is not a mitigating circumstance under the Eighth Amendment because it not a fact about the defendant's character or background or about the circumstances of the offense. Kansas law does not provide for a system such as that in New Jersey, and we decline to impose such a system sua sponte. We conclude that the trial court did not err in failing to instruct the jury on the sentences which Kleypas would receive for his additional felony convictions. In the absence of a request, the trial court has no duty to inform the jury in a capital-murder case of the term of imprisonment to which a defendant would be sentenced if death were not imposed. Where such an instruction is requested, the trial court must provide the jury with the alternative number of years that a defendant would be required to serve in prison if not sentenced to death. Additionally, where a defendant has been found guilty of charges in addition to capital murder, the trial court upon request must provide the jury with the possible terms of imprisonment for each additional charge and advise the jury that the determination of whether such other sentences shall be served consecutively or concurrently to each other and the sentence for the murder conviction is a matter committed to the sound discretion of the trial court. Issue 42. Failure to Give Limiting Instruction Regarding Inconsistency Between Heinous, Atrocious, or Cruel Manner Aggravating Circumstance and Avoiding Arrest Aggravating Circumstance Kleypas argues that two of the aggravating circumstances advanced by the State in his separate sentencing proceeding are potentially inconsistent and, therefore, required the trial court to instruct the jury on the inconsistency. He argues that the following two circumstances are inconsistent in that they both address the motive for the killing: The defendant committed the crime for the defendant's self or another for the purpose of receiving money or any other thing of monetary value, K.S.A. 21-4625(3), and The defendant committed the crime in an especially heinous, atrocious or cruel manner, K.S.A. 21-4625(6). Kleypas cites two cases to support his argument for the necessity of the limiting instruction: State v. Cooper, 151 N.J. 326, 700 A.2d 306 (1997), and State v. Barreras, 181 Ariz. 516, 892 P.2d 852 (1995). In Cooper, the aggravating factors in the penalty phase were that (1) the crime was depraved and senseless and (2) the crime was committed to avoid arrest. The court found that these two factors were inconsistent, as one assumed no motive existed, while the other set forth a motive. 151 N.J. at 382. Under the circumstances, Cooper concluded that the trial court should not have submitted both factors but also concluded a limiting instruction that the jury could not find both factors was sufficient to cure the error. 151 N.J. at 382-84. In Barreras, the trial court found that the murder had been committed in an especially heinous and depraved manner because, in part, the murder was senseless and the murder was made to eliminate the victim as a witness. The Arizona Supreme Court concluded that the witness elimination aggravating factor was not supported by the evidence but also expressed its doubt that the two factors could exist at the same time. 181 Ariz. at 523. Cooper and Barreras involve aggravating factors relating to the motive of the killing, viz., that the killing was senseless and that the killing was made to avoid arrest or eliminate the victim. In both cases, the aggravating factors were clearly inconsistent. However, neither case supports Kleypas' argument. In Kansas, the heinous, atrocious, or cruel manner aggravating circumstance is not targeted toward the motive for the killing, i.e., that the killing was senseless but, rather, its focus is on the manner in which the killing was committed. We conclude that the alleged inconsistency does not exist under the facts of this case. No limiting instruction was necessary. The State was not relying on Kleypas' motive for the killing to establish the heinous, atrocious, or cruel manner aggravating circumstance. Instead, the State relied on the physical and mental anguish suffered by the victim to establish that aggravating circumstance. Kleypas' argument fails. Issue 43. Prosecutorial Misconduct in the Penalty Phase Kleypas alleges that certain conduct by the State during the penalty phase, as well as numerous statements and arguments during its closing argument, constituted prosecutorial misconduct. According to Kleypas, the prosecutorial misconduct denied him a fair sentencing proceeding and requires that his sentence be overturned. Although we have already determined that Kleypas' sentences must be vacated and the matter remanded for a new sentencing hearing, we choose to address the claimed errors with regard to prosecutorial misconduct in detail. Because this is the first death penalty case in Kansas under the new statute, it is important to highlight the standard of review for claimed misconduct during the penalty phase and to educate both prosecutors and defense attorneys as to the standard to which they will be held in both their conduct and comments during the penalty phase.