Opinion ID: 1747978
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: alleged instructional error regarding statutoryaggravating circumstances

Text: Appellant also asserts that the trial court erred during the penalty phase in overruling his objection and submitting Instruction 23 to the jury, concerning statutory aggravating circumstances. The jury found all three statutory aggravators that were submitted in the instruction, with respect to the killing of Debbie Rainwater: (1) that the murder of Debbie Rainwater was committed while Appellant was engaged in the commission of the unlawful homicide of Stephen Rainwater, (2) that Appellant by his act of murder knowingly created a great risk of death to more than one person by means of a weapon that would normally be hazardous to the lives of more than one person, and (3) that the murder of Debbie Rainwater was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman because it involved depravity of mind in that Appellant killed her as part of a plan to kill more than one person, and thereby exhibited a callous disregard for the sanctity of all human life. See section 565.032.2(2), (3) and (7). Appellant argues that the first and third of these statutory aggravating circumstances were not supported by the evidence and also were duplicative, thus resulting in instructional error rendering the death penalty arbitrary and capricious. [10]
Appellant argues that the first statutory aggravating circumstancethat the murder of Debbie Rainwater occurred while Appellant was engaged in the commission of the unlawful homicide of Stephen Rainwateris not supported because the evidence showed that Appellant did not shoot both of them at precisely the same time. However, the shootings did not have to occur at precisely the same time in order for this statutory aggravating circumstance to apply. Rather, the shooting of Debbie Rainwater occurred while Appellant was engaged in the commission of the unlawful homicide of Stephen Rainwater, within the meaning of section 565.032.2(2), because there was evidence to show that both murders were committed pursuant to a common scheme to kill the entire Rainwater family, including Stephen Rainwater. See State v. Johnson, 968 S.W.2d 123, 125-126, 135 (Mo. banc 1998); State v. Smith, 944 S.W.2d 901, 909, 925 (Mo. banc 1997). Appellant is likewise incorrect in asserting that the evidence did not support the third statutory aggravating circumstancethat the murder of Debbie Rainwater was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman because it involved depravity of mind, in that Appellant killed her as part of a plan to kill more than one person. This finding was amply supported by the evidence showing that Appellant revealed his plan of mass murder in the threat that he made to Abbey Rainwater about what would happen if she told anyone that he beat her. The jury could reasonably infer from this that Appellant was attempting to carry out that plan when he killed the victims.
Appellant further argues that the first and third statutory aggravating circumstances, discussed above, are duplicative of each other since they both assert that Appellant's conduct as to Debbie Rainwater could warrant the death penalty because he was also trying to kill Stephen Rainwater. Thus, Appellant contends, they allowed the jury to double-count the same conduct in weighing aggravating circumstances against mitigating circumstances and deciding whether to sentence Appellant to death. However, this Court has repeatedly rejected similar arguments that the statutory aggravating circumstances are impermissibly duplicative. State v. Christeson, 50 S.W.3d at 271. Moreover, only one valid statutory aggravating circumstance is needed to consider imposition of the death penalty, State v. Brown, 902 S.W.2d 278, 293 (Mo. banc 1995), and a defective additional aggravating circumstance therefore usually affords a defendant no basis for relief. State v. Black, 50 S.W.3d 778, 791 (Mo. banc 2001). Thus, even assuming arguendo that some duplicativeness occurred with regard to the first and third submitted statutory aggravators, it would not have been prejudicial in the case at bar.