Opinion ID: 1760832
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Prosecutor's Negotiation Deception

Text: Gill next claims that the motion court clearly erred in finding that the prosecutor did not engage in prosecutorial misconduct. He alleges that the prosecutor purposely misled defense counsel into believing the State would waive the death penalty if Gill provided information that would lead to the prosecution of another potential defendant. According to Gill, the prosecutor purposely misled defense counsel because he knew that the victim's family wanted the death penalty pursued regardless of his cooperation. The State may not give misleading information to the defendant. State v. Kilgore, 771 S.W.2d 57, 65 (Mo. banc 1989). Here, however, the evidence presented at the Rule 29.15 hearing established that the prosecutor did not convey misleading information to the defendant. The prosecutor testified that he remained open to the possibility of a plea agreement throughout preparation for the case. The prosecutor believed that Gill had no information to implicate another defendant for the murder of the victim, but he still would have considered waiving the death penalty had Gill provided him with information to charge the potential defendant with a serious crime. The prosecutor's actions did not mislead defense counsel into believing that he would waive the death penalty. The motion court's findings on this point are not clearly erroneous.