Opinion ID: 1254804
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 14

Heading: Issues relating to the penalty phase: Exclusion of defendant's poetry at the penalty phase.

Text: Defendant contends that, during the penalty phase of his trial, the court erred in excluding proffered evidence consisting of poetry written in appellant's handwriting that was relevant to mitigation. Respondent argues that the evidence was either irrelevant or was inadmissible hearsay. Respondent also contends that the evidence was cumulative and that its exclusion was not prejudicial. The parties stipulated that the poetry was written by defendant while he was in custody in Colorado and before he was charged in California. The poetry, along with defendant's other personal effects, was seized by Kansas authorities under a search warrant when defendant was extradited to Kansas and was later obtained by defendant's counsel in discovery. During the penalty hearing, defendant's daughter testified that she and defendant had written poetry together while defendant lived with her, and that they exchanged poems by mail while he was in jail. Defendant then attempted to introduce the poetry written in Colorado to demonstrate another dimension of his character, so that the jury could see him as a unique individual.