Court Opinion

ID: 9777502
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 20:14:04.775588+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:32:55.292349
License: Public Domain

TOM GLAZE, Justice, dissenting in part. In my view, the majority opinion’s reasoning is seriously erroneous in finding, on the one hand, the state’s evidence is insufficient to support the “avoiding arrest” aggravating circumstances given the jury for Kemp’s murders of Wayne Helton, Cheryl Phegley, and Robert Phegley, but at the same time, finding the evidence sufficient to prove the “avoiding arrest” aggravating circumstance for the murder of Richard Falls. Kemp killed all four of these victims at the same time and place. The majority opinion states the record shows that Kemp killed Wayne Helton and the Phegleys, who had earlier “run Kemp off” without letting him take his girlfriend, Mahoney. From the evidence, the jury could have found this to be one reason why Kemp killed these three victims, but the jury had every right to find another reason for Kemp’s having killed all four victims — so no witnesses would be left to identify him. In this respect, Kemp stated that the other victim, Falls, was “in the wrong place at the wrong time,” which statement, I suggest, meant Kemp had returned to murder everyone he found inside the trailer. The jury could have reasonably concluded from Mahoney’s testimony that Kemp killed Falls first as Falls opened the trailer door; then, after killing Falls, a man he did not personally know, Kemp obviously had no intentions of leaving anyone found alive who could identify him.1 Once Falls was murdered, Kemp’s motive to rid the trailer of all witnesses became self-evident. Whether Kemp had additional reasons for killing some of the victims is irrelevant. By its reversal, this court robs the jury of its factfinding responsibility. Therefore, I respectfully dissent from the court’s decision to reverse and remand the matter for resentencing. Corbin and Brown, JJ., join this dissent.   I note that another witness indicated that Kemp later said that Wayne Helton had opened the trailer door upon Kemp’s return. Who opened the door and which victim was first shot was clearly a factual question for the jury to decide. In any event, Mahoney’s testimony vividly supports the finding that Falls was shot first.