Opinion ID: 453243
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Kumpe's Statements to His Former Wife.

Text: 45 Peggy Davidson, who was married to Kumpe from 1968 to 1975, testified that Kumpe told her on two or three occasions that he was armed at the time of the shooting. [T. 180.] On one of those occasions, in the presence of Davidson and two other people, Kumpe stated that he had a gun in his pants when he got out of the car which Barentine missed during the search, and that he, Kumpe, fell down under the Oldsmobile after the shooting started. [T. 175, 178.] During that conversation, Kumpe did not say whether he had fired any shots. [T. 177-78.] Afterwards, however, when they were alone, Davidson recounted that she said to Kumpe:  'Russell, you shouldn't tell that. The way you tell that,' I said, 'it sounds like you did it.' And he kind of grinned and he said, 'I did.'  17 [T. 178.] According to Davidson, Kumpe told her on another occasion that he only made one mistake. He didn't kill James Dean Walker too. [T. 179.] 46 The district court found that Peggy Davidson's testimony should be viewed with skepticism because of her apparent animosity toward Kumpe and her sympathy for Walker. 598 F.Supp. at 1428. Yet this important testimony, supported by Kumpe's diary entry, is certainly credible enough to deserve the attention of a jury. 47 It may be that Kumpe's diary and his statements to Davidson and others, as hearsay, would not be admissible as substantive evidence at a new trial. Nevertheless, such evidence could at least come before the jury for purposes of impeachment. It is reasonable to assume that if the State retries Walker, Kumpe would again be called as a witness, and that he would be available to testify. 18 Having testified fully at the October 1984 hearing, Kumpe has waived his right to claim the privilege against self-incrimination. Nor could he now claim (as he did to avoid testifying at Walker's first two trials) that he has no memory of the events in question. Presumably the State, having characterized his testimony as critical [Appellee's Brief at 4], would call Kumpe to give his account of the events surrounding Vaughan's death. On cross-examination, the defense could ask Kumpe whether he fired a gun that night. If Kumpe's answer is no, he could then be asked about the diary entry, and about other newly discovered evidence indicating that he fired a weapon that night. If Kumpe admits the diary entry and other statements now attributed to him, then, as Judge Arnold explained in voting to recall the mandate, 48 the fact of these prior inconsistent statements would then be before the jury, together with whatever explanation Kumpe might wish to offer. If, on the other hand, he denies making the alleged prior inconsistent statements, extrinsic evidence of these statements, including the diary itself and the testimony of Kumpe's former wife, could be offered for impeachment purposes. See Jones, Case Note, Roberts v. State: A Limitation on the Impeachment of Witnesses by Extrinsic Evidence of Prior Inconsistent Statements, 37 Ark.L.Rev. 688 (1984). In either event, the jury would know about the diary entry and the alleged oral admissions. It would have an opportunity to observe Kumpe in person and to assess his credibility in light of all the circumstances, including the prior inconsistent statements. Ordinarily, newly discovered evidence is not sufficient to justify new proceedings if it goes only to the credibility of a witness, but this case is so evenly balanced that this sort of impeachment of Kumpe's credibility could well be decisive in the mind of the jury. 49 726 F.2d at 1266. 50 Even if the State does not call Kumpe as a witness, the defense may do so. The State argues, citing Allen v. State, 281 Ark. 1, 660 S.W.2d 922, 924 (1983), that Arkansas law does not permit a party to call a witness merely to lay a foundation for a prior inconsistent statement. However, in the present case, the defense would undoubtedly wish to call Kumpe not merely for impeachment purposes, but for the substantive purposes of establishing that Vaughan fired first and that Kumpe owned the murder weapon and had it in his possession on April 16, 1963. On cross-examination, Kumpe would very probably offer his account of the shooting. The defense would then, on redirect, have an opportunity to impeach Kumpe with his prior inconsistent statements. 19 51