Opinion ID: 4556845
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Defense’s Case in Mitigation

Text: The defense presented a substantial mitigation case during the penalty phase, including dozens of witnesses to testify to Kipp’s difficult upbringing and expert testimony regarding the history of the Blackfeet Tribe, of which Kipp is a member. The defense also called a psychologist to provide an expert opinion on how challenging aspects of his life impacted his development. The jury heard evidence of the Blackfeet Tribe’s bloody history in the U.S. In the late 1700’s, the Tribe was a nomadic people who hunted buffalo and lived in teepees. After Americans began settling and taking over the fur trade, disease and alcohol spread across the Tribe. Although their territory was defined by treaty with the United States as of 1855, a gold rush in Montana resulted in invasions and encroachments on their land. In response to Blackfeet resistance, a group of soldiers massacred a peaceful encampment of Blackfeet. Joe Kipp, a part-Native American scout who assisted the soldiers during the attack, tried to stop the attack after realizing at the last minute that the group was peaceful. The tribe’s chief was killed in the massacre, and Joe Kipp adopted one of the chief’s sons, who 10 KIPP V. DAVIS would become the grandfather to John Kipp, Martin Kipp’s adoptive father. After buffalo began to disappear from Blackfeet lands, the Tribe suffered starvation and at least 600 died during the winter of 1882–1883, leaving a small population of around 2,500. The Tribe’s reservation in Montana was reduced in size, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs began to adopt harsh regulations aimed at assimilating Native Americans into White society. When the tribes were allowed to decide whether to allow the sale of alcohol on their lands, the Blackfeet opted to permit alcohol, exacerbating the alcoholism that had developed among their members returning from World War II. By the time of Kipp’s trial in 1989, 6,000 Blackfeet lived on the Montana reservation, with an unemployment rate of 60 to 70 percent and an annual family income of $5,000 per year (less than a third of the statewide average of $18,000). Members who left the reservations often experienced low esteem and lost the support of their communities. Kipp was born on the Blackfeet Reservation in 1958. His birth mother, Mary Still Smoking, was a “nervous” and “paranoid” alcoholic, who was “out drinking most of the time.” Kipp first lived with his maternal grandmother, where 12 to 14 children all shared a filthy, two-room house. The children were neglected, and inebriation and fighting were common in the house. A psychologist testified that these conditions caused Kipp to view the world as an insecure and threatening place and to develop distrust, fear of people, and sensitivity to rejection or abandonment. When Kipp was 23 months old, child welfare workers removed him from the house and placed him with John and Mildred (also known as Bobbie) Kipp, who were also members of the Blackfeet Tribe. They lived on a family KIPP V. DAVIS 11 ranch within the reservation that was isolated from the rest of the community. John Kipp was a large and muscular man, and a decorated United States Marine Corps serviceman during World War II. John Kipp was a demanding perfectionist who always wanted things done his way. When Kipp arrived, he was small and malnourished, his head had been shaved off because he had lice, and he had a skin disease called impetigo. John Kipp at first was unwilling to accept Kipp into his family, but, after six months, he began to treat Kipp as his son. Kipp idolized his adoptive father and tried to live up to his expectations. The psychologist testified that Kipp was not given the freedom needed to develop internal controls on his behavior. As a result, Kipp had difficulty distinguishing his own wants and values from John’s. Still, up through his teenage years, Kipp was seen as “friendly and well mannered,” and an honest, hard worker. He attended high school in Montana on the Blackfeet reservation, where he was viewed as gentle, shy with girls, and a “warm, loving, and respectful young man.” He competed in cross-country, and his coach described him as being courteous, trustworthy, and an “all-around good kid to coach.” John also trained Kipp in boxing. In 1973, when Kipp was in a car with his uncle and 11- year-old cousin Billy, the car crashed and Billy was killed. John Kipp was fond of Billy and took the incident hard; he felt responsible because he had sent them to get seed grain when the accident occurred. John began to drink whiskey excessively and suffered a stroke. John’s alcoholism also led his family relationships to deteriorate. John physically abused Bobbie and Kipp; he broke two of Bobbie’s fingers when he slammed a door shut on her hand. He became aggressive and rough, spent his time in bars, and started an 12 KIPP V. DAVIS affair. Bobbie eventually moved away and divorced John, who remarried. The psychologist testified that Kipp’s sense of identity was rooted in his relationship with John. John’s deterioration was profoundly frightening to Kipp and resurfaced his fears and insecurities. Kipp was in a constant state of emotional turmoil and “lost heart,” leading him to give up boxing. Kipp moved to his uncle’s house in Spokane, Washington during his senior year of high school. When he was 19, he received news that John had died. Kipp left immediately and drove all night to the ranch. Following John’s death, a dispute arose over the division of assets between John’s family and John’s widow. Kipp was caught in this conflict and unprepared to deal with it. Bobbie ended up with nothing, and Kipp received $13,000. Kipp enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, where the discipline and high standards paralleled his relationship with John. Although Kipp was considered an outstanding recruit during boot camp, his performance plummeted when he was assigned a desk job in Okinawa. Kipp developed an attitude problem, stole some items, and spent time in the brig. He also began to abuse alcohol, cocaine, and methamphetamine. He was transferred to California, where he raped June Martinez in June 1981. In the following month, he left his military post without leave and returned to the Blackfeet reservation in Montana. He began to date a woman who testified that Kipp was a “gentleman” who was “really good to her.” Kipp was arrested for raping Martinez in August 1981. While in custody awaiting trial, he was sexually assaulted by other inmates. The experience was profoundly frightening to Kipp, and he coped by hiding his weakness and vulnerability. Still, Kipp adjusted well during his KIPP V. DAVIS 13 incarceration, and Bobbie visited him during that time. But when he was released in 1983, Kipp continued to lack direction or identity, and he felt that he had no one with whom he could discuss his problems. He continued to abuse alcohol, cocaine, and methamphetamine. The defense presented an expert psychopharmacologist who testified that chronic use of these drugs can result in paranoia and is also associated with violence and suicide. By the time of the penalty phase of the trial, the defense psychologist had interviewed Kipp five times between 1984 and 1989. Kipp had admitted to killing Frizzell and Howard, and he expressed shame, sorrow, and regret for his actions. Kipp explained to the psychologist that, when he wrote the September 15th letter to his wife denying that he had any remorse, he was upset and angry about what had happened during his trial for the murder of Howard. The defense called a number of additional witnesses— Kipp’s family and friends—who expressed their love for Kipp and urged the jury to spare his life. Another expert witness testified about the California prison system and described how individuals sentenced to life without parole are confined in small modules, where they are constantly surveilled and escape is virtually impossible. The expert also testified that individuals sentenced to life terms tend to be model prisoners, especially after the age of 40. 14 KIPP V. DAVIS