Court Opinion

ID: 9718312
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 07:20:50.631227+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:58.358038
License: Public Domain

WOLFF, Judge,
dissenting.
Without the testimony of Jessica Cox there would be no ease against Dannie Wolfe1 for the murders of Lena and Leonard Walters. None of the physical evidence links Dannie Wolfe to these killings. One of the victims, Leonard Walters, was seen alive by a disinterested and reliable witness in the morning and the afternoon of the day on which Mr. Walters had supposedly been murdered earlier in the morning. The central factual issue is the credibility of Jessica Cox. The trial court improperly kept from the jury critical evidence calling into question Ms. Cox’s credibility. The trial court’s rulings effectively precluded Wolfe from presenting a defense and denied him the right to a fair trial. There is a substantial possibility that Wolfe did not commit these crimes. I therefore dissent.
Our Factual Review
.In order to highlight the error of the trial judge’s critical rulings, a summary of the facts is necessary. The principal opinion only sets forth the facts that are consistent with the jury’s verdict, giving due deference to the jury’s role. Because the jury could very well reach a different decision, if it were more adequately informed, a more complete summary of the record is necessary to show that Wolfe was prejudiced by the trial court’s rulings. Moreover, a full review of the evidence is required in this death penalty case under section 565.035 to assess the “strength of the evidence.”2
*267Facts
On Wednesday afternoon, February 19, 1997, Jessica Cox went to Slick’s Bar in Lake Ozark to have drinks. Ms. Cox, who was a barmaid at Eddy’s Bar, and her fiancé, Allen Fair, a seasonal construction worker, were in a pool league on Wednesday nights. Fair and two other friends, Scotty Gift and Brian Beard, also in the pool league, were meeting at Slick’s. The four then drove to a bar in Eldon, and after they finished playing pool, they all went back to Slick’s. Later in the evening, Fair decided to go home since he had to get up to work the next morning. Ms. Cox stayed at the bar with Scotty Gift and Brian Beard, who left the bar about 11:30 p.m. About midnight, Ms. Cox left Slick’s and walked over to Mona’s Bar. At Mona’s, she played pool with a friend from work. Then she was introduced to and played pool with the defendant, Dannie Wolfe.
Wolfe, who was age 46 at the time, worked as a self-employed painter under the business name “ProPainter.” He has a criminal record of burglary, stealing, and armed robbery that runs from 1968 to 1988 — the record shows convictions for second degree burglary in 1968, felony stealing over $50 in 1971, second degree burglary in 1976 and 1977, and armed robbery in 1988. His last conviction in 1988 resulted in a six-year prison sentence. He has a drug and alcohol problem for which he had been attending treatment in the time period when he met Ms. Cox in the bar.
After being introduced and playing pool, Wolfe and Ms. Cox went over to the bar to talk. According to Ms. Cox, Wolfe asked her if she was into the drug scene and if she did drugs. She responded that yes, she did get high. Wolfe then asked if she would be interested in selling some drugs for him. She again responded yes. She told Wolfe that she needed a ride home. He told her that he would give her a ride home after he had given her the drugs. They left the bar near closing time, around 1:15 a.m.
They drove in Wolfe’s pickup truck for about 20 to 25 minutes to his motel room at the Williamsburg Inn.3 At the motel, Ms. Cox said they watched television and they talked. After about 20 minutes they left the motel and went to Camdenton to the home of Wolfe’s friend, Chris Young, to pick up a bag Wolfe had left there, which he said contained “weed,” because they wanted to get high.
Jessica Cox and Dannie Wolfe drove back to the motel, arriving about 2:30 a.m. According to Wolfe’s statement to the police, Ms. Cox and Wolfe stayed in his motel room the rest of the night. In his statement, Wolfe declined to say whether or not he and Ms. Cox had sex, although both admit to kissing. At 7:00 a.m., according to Allen Fair, Ms. Cox’s fiancé, Ms. Cox called him from a pay phone in the Osage Beach area — the time and origin of the call were shown on Fair’s caller ID. Ms. Cox told Fair that she had been kidnapped by a man, that she was at the hospital for tests, and that the man had been arrested.
Fair testified that he was upset with her. He told her that his track was not working so he could not pick her up. Ms. Cox eventually called another friend, and *268she told the Mend that she had been kidnapped. This Mend could not pick her up, but Scotty Gift, one of the pool players, and another Mend would come by and pick her up. Once they arrived, she told them that she had been kidnapped and elaborated on her story: Ms. Cox said she had asked this man for a ride home and that he ended up passing the road to her home and took her to his cabin on D road. He handcuffed her when she was in the car. Once in the cabin the kidnapper, whose name was “Frank,” then tied her up with loose fabric. Further, she said she had hurt her head getting out of the car and that is why the hospital did tests. She told her Mends that she got away and stole the man’s wallet. In at least one version of the story, she escaped from being tied up when “Frank” went to get more men to have sex with her. She said the police had already apprehended the kidnapper, whose description matched that of Dannie Wolfe.
After she told her flaneé and others this false kidnapping story, the story became the talk of the town.
Allen Fair said that Greg Addington, the bartender at Slick’s and a Mend of Fair, called Fair to say that the “kidnapper” had been in the bar. Someone had recognized him from the description Ms. Cox had given and began to beat him up. Adding-ton stopped the fight. Wolfe gave him identification proving his name was Dannie Wolfe and not “Frank,” the name Ms. Cox had given as that of her kidnapper. Ad-dington was suspicious of Ms. Cox’s story and called the police and the hospital to check to see if her story was true. The story was false. According to Ms. Cox, Fair confronted her about the story, probably while Addington was still on the phone. Fair testified the call from Ad-dington was on late Saturday night, while Ms. Cox said the call occurred late Friday evening. When confronted with Adding-ton’s news, Ms. Cox told her fiancé that she had witnessed a murder, but did not tell him any specific details. Fair did not ask for any details, but told her to go to an attorney or to the police.
The bodies of Lena and Leonard Walters were found on Sunday, February 23, 1997, about noon. The coroner, Dr. Jungles, examined the bodies at the scene around 1:00 p.m. Lena Walters’ body was inside the house. She had been shot with a shotgun and stabbed a number of times. Dr. Jungles, who is a physician, started with Lena Walters’ body because the temperature in the house was more stable than outside, where Leonard Walters’ body was discovered in his car. Dr. Jungles’ preliminary observation was that the time of death was 24 to 36 hours prior to Sunday afternoon, with 36 hours being the maximum.
As a guide for determining time of death, Dr. Jungles assessed the bodies’ rigor mortis. Rigor mortis, according to the testimony, sets in about two hours after death, peaks at 18 hours or so, and then gradually leaves the body 24 to 36 hours after death. Based on the status of the rigor mortis, Dr. Jungles’ judgment was that the Walters had been dead for 24 to 36 hours. The forensic pathologist, Dr. Dix, did not make any determination as to the time of death. After the state adopted the theory that Dannie Wolfe had murdered the couple early Thursday morning, both doctors testified that the time of death would not be inconsistent with the state’s theory, though Dr. Jungles’ clinical observations at the scene led him to estimate the time of death as probably no earlier than early Saturday morning.
On Thursday, February 27, Ms. Cox went to see an attorney who called the prosecuting attorney offering Ms. Cox’s story in exchange for immunity. The prosecutor and Ms. Cox, through her attorney, entered into an immunity agreement that day.4 Two officers briefly inter*269viewed Ms. Cox at the attorney’s office. One officer testified that they did not receive details from Ms. Cox at that time. She told the officers where the safe was and took them to locations Ms. Cox said she and Wolfe had been.
Ms. Cox testified that she listened to a police scanner, read the newspaper about the murders, and spoke with officers about the investigation. She testified that her story on Saturday, March 1, the day of her videotaped statement, had more elaborate details than her two earlier statements; one of her statements was not recorded and the other was recorded but erased by the officer who had taken it.
At trial, Ms. Cox testified as follows: When she and Dannie Wolfe returned to the Williamsburg Inn, his motel, arriving around 2:30 a.m., Wolfe told her that they had to wait a while before they could pick up some money in Greenview. At this point, Ms. Cox said she asked him to take her home. He told her that she should wait because it would be worth it. They continued to talk and Wolfe ate. Wolfe took handcuffs out of the bag that he had picked up earlier, but he told her not to worry. At some point, Wolfe changed into black nylon pants, a red sweatshirt, and a camouflage jacket. They left the motel about 4:30 a.m. to go to Greenview.
On the way, Wolfe stopped at an Amoco station and asked Ms. Cox to buy sodas and a pair of jersey gloves.5 (There was no evidence of such purchases.) Wolfe then drove to the Walters’ home and passed it, indicating to Ms. Cox that that was the home he intended to rob. She was familiar with the home and the Green-view area because she passed there to get to her mother’s home, which she visited a couple of times a week. Wolfe parked his truck off the gravel road and told Ms. Cox that he was planning to rob the couple. It was about 5:15 a.m. Wolfe told Ms. Cox that he wanted her to test drive the car for 10 or 15 minutes and take the old man with her and he was going to stay with the woman. He told her to use the name “Jo-Jo” and to call him “Sam.” Wolfe said that he had been to the house earlier and told them he would be back with his girlfriend. They stayed on the side of the road for about two hours, and Wolfe slept part of the time. While he was sleeping, Ms. Cox said she concocted a plan to take Mr. Walters to the nearest phone to call police. When it was time to go to the house, Wolfe had given her a pair of “purple grayish fuzzy gloves” to wear that were already in the truck. (No such gloves were recovered.)
When they pulled up to the home, Wolfe got out of the truck and went to the front door. Both Mr. and Mrs. Walters came to the door, she in a nightgown and he putting up one strap of his overalls. (No nightgown was found at the scene.) Walters and Wolfe walked to the car, and Ms. Cox got out of the truck and went over to the car. The car did not start, so Wolfe and Walters jump-started it. Wolfe asked if Mr. Walters was going to go with Ms. Cox on the test drive. When he replied that there was not any reason for him to go, Ms. Cox encouraged Walters to go with her to describe the car. He did.
When she had put the car in drive, Wolfe jumped into the back seat saying, “Let’s go, Jo-Jo,” or perhaps simply, “Let’s go.” Ms. Cox said she was in the car a total of about 20 minutes, and that Mr. Walters discussed different features of the car. She was not able to recall any *270specifics about the interior nor any of the features of the car.
As she was heading back toward the house, Ms. Cox heard a loud bang, looked over and saw Wolfe pulling what looked like a gun from the back of Walters’ head. Walters leaned forward and a “bunch of blood” came out of his mouth. Ms. Cox said that Wolfe then leaned forward over the front seat and was patting Mr. Walters down looking for his wallet, which he found. According to Ms. Cox, Wolfe said, “this guy’s loaded.” When Walters’ body was found, the wallet was in the front of the overalls without any cash in it.
When they returned to the residence, Wolfe told Ms. Cox to put the car in the same spot that it had originally been parked. As she was parking but before the car stopped moving, Wolfe jumped out of the car and went straight into the house without knocking. She went back to Wolfe’s truck, rolled the window down a couple of inches and smoked a cigarette. While waiting, she heard a “ruckus” and a “loud bang.” She did not hear anything for ten minutes. Wolfe came out of the house carrying a safe, which he put in the truck. As they were driving away, Cox asked if Wolfe planned to kill her, and he responded that she was his partner.
Wolfe drove down a little farther from the Walters home, stopped and took the safe down into the woods. According to Ms. Cox’s trial testimony, Wolfe opened the safe with a crowbar and screwdriver. Once open, he put the contents in his pockets, then pushed and kicked the safe down the hill. He got back into the truck and drove away, but had forgotten his tools and drove back to get them.
Wolfe then drove to a subdivision area known as Port Valero by Lake of the Ozarks. He went down to a storage area but did not have the key. He went to get the key a few houses down from the man who had hired him for a painting job. This man testified that Wolfe did come by and get the key and that they had coffee together for about 15 or 20 minutes.
According to Ms. Cox, Wolfe came back to the truck in about five or six minutes. After he got the key, he went back to the shed and was gone an additional ten minutes, Ms. Cox said. He had changed into his painting clothes. He also told her that he had thrown the gun into the lake. (No gun was recovered.)
They then drove back to Camdenton to a cigarette store that he was supposed to paint. At one point, Ms. Cox testified they arrived at the store around 9:00 a.m. Wolfe told her he was going in to tell the owner that he had to pick up paint and that he could then take her home. There was testimony that Wolfe did pick up paint and the invoice documents the time at 9:12 a.m. After Wolfe got out of the cigarette store, Ms. Cox said he drove toward Osage Beach and gave her $540. Wolfe told her that the money should keep her mouth shut and she would be killed if she went to the police. He told her that he was going to go out of town for a couple of weeks to California.6
Ms. Cox asked to be dropped off at the hospital because she did not want him to know where she lived. She said she arrived at the hospital around 8:30 or 9:00 a.m. She said she called her fiancé from the hospital around 9:30 a.m. — contrary to his testimony that it was 7:00 a.m. — and told him that she had been kidnapped and that the police officers were done with her and she could go home.
*271Some days after the discovery of the Walters’ bodies, but before Jessica Cox went to an attorney, Ms. Cox, according to an affidavit executed by a former roommate, told the former roommate that she had been a witness to a murder of a man in Greenview and that Ms. Cox had been with two individuals, one named Brian and the other one named Eric. The affidavit also stated that Ms. Cox said that she and the two men had gone to the house to steal a large amount of money, either $20,000 or $50,000, and that the two men were still at Ms. Cox’s home. The former roommate’s affidavit further states that she told Ms. Cox that she needed to go to the police and to get the men out of her house.
This affidavit was obtained by the defense prior to trial, and the affiant was subpoenaed for testimony at trial as the defense’s last witness, but she did not appear. The defense’s request for a brief continuance to locate the witness was denied. Ms. Cox denied making these statements and the defense was precluded from using the affidavit for impeachment.
On Monday, February 24, the day after the bodies were discovered, after hearing the news of the Walters’ killings, a disinterested witness, Robert Morgan, told police that he was a friend of Leonard Walters and saw Walters twice on Thursday, February 20, 1997, the day Ms. Cox said Walters was murdered. Morgan recalled having coffee with Walters on Thursday morning in a coffee shop where Morgan stopped on the way to the hospital to see his wife. Morgan also testified that it was well known in the Greenview area that Walters was wealthy and carried a lot of cash.
On the same day that he had morning coffee with Walters, Thursday, February 20, Morgan saw Walters and another man, with dark skin, standing by the car at Walters’ home in the afternoon. That afternoon, he followed an ambulance that was transporting his wife to a nursing facility, and it was on his way home Thursday afternoon that he noticed Walters standing by his car. Morgan so testified, and the ambulance report and the nursing facility’s sign-in logs supported his testimony as to the Thursday date. Another witness, the owner of a local meat market, recalled seeing the Walters late in the week of February 16, on Thursday or Friday, but could not exclude seeing the Walters on Wednesday.
None of the physical evidence links Wolfe to these murders. At the scene of the murders, police recovered a .25 caliber shell casing on Mr. Walters’ neck and shoulder area, a live cartridge in the back seat of the car, and a live cartridge by the refrigerator in the home. There were two footprints found on linoleum in the house, an expended 12 gauge shotgun shell found in the bedroom, a 12 gauge shotgun, two shotgun shells, and a fillet knife, which apparently was used to stab Mrs. Walters either before or after she was shot with the shotgun that apparently was owned by the Walters. There was some tissue, blood, and hair in Mrs. Walters’ hands, and hair was also taken from fiber in the car. None matched Wolfe’s.
Law officers seized three sets of silver handcuffs, a key to the handcuffs, and a pry bar from Wolfe’s motel room; they seized his toolbox, a pair of brown jersey gloves, a crowbar, a hairbrush, and floor mats from his truck. From the unlocked communal storage at Port Valero, officers recovered size 10 white tennis shoes, and a pair of jersey gloves found outside on a rock. In a condominium shed in Port Va-lero, officers recovered a red hooded sweatshirt and black pants. From a dumpster at the Williamsburg Inn, police recovered a box of thirty .25 caliber cartridges, a live round in front of the dumpster, a gray lock box, a bag with a camouflage jacket, a wig, and a torn check with the name “Ferry,” notes and other papers with Wolfe’s name on them, a black bag containing two boxes of .22 caliber ammunition (a caliber different from the .25 caliber bullet that killed Mr. Walters), and three ring boxes with rings in them (these *272rings and boxes were not shown to be the Walters’ property), and a piece of black hair was found in the cartridge box.
By Jessica Cox’s account, and from the examination and photos of the scene, there was a lot of blood. Ms. Cox testified that after Wolfe shot Mr. Walters, he reached around from the back seat to get Walters’ wallet from the front of his overalls, and that there was blood all over the front of the overalls that Mr. Walters wore. Mrs. Walters had been stabbed four to five times and had been shot with a shotgun.
Yet, significantly, there was no blood on any of the clothing that Ms. Cox said Wolfe was wearing when he committed these bloody murders — none on the camouflage jacket reportedly found in the dumpster, nor the black pants and shoes found in the sheds, nor on the sweatshirt recovered at Port Valero.
There were several strands of hair found at different locations — at the house, in the car, and in the dumpster. None of the hairs matched that of Dannie Wolfe. The hair found in one of the cartridge boxes did not match Wolfe’s or either of the victims’.
Fingerprints were lifted, but did not match Wolfe’s.
Nor were there any fibers found on his clothing that were identified as from the crime scene or, specifically, from the Walters’ car.
The gloves that law officers recovered from Wolfe’s truck and on the rock in Port Valero did not have hair, fiber, gunpowder or blood on them. A firearms expert could not say whether the cartridges recovered from the dumpster were from the same lot as the .25 caliber cartridges found at the crime scene.
A gelatin mold was made of the shoe prints found at the scene. An expert testified that the vinyl print was so fragmentary and partial that it was difficult to determine a starting point, thus she could not determine which was the heel or toe of the print. There were no individual characteristics that could be found matching the print and the shoes that were seized from the communal storage area at Port Valero. There were similar class characteristics between the shoes seized and the print at the scene, but class characteristics are secondary to individual characteristics because shoe companies often use the same sole design. Moreover, the weather in the early morning hours of February 20 was drizzly, rainy, and cold, yet the shoes that were seized were not muddy and did not have to be cleaned. The shoes that were seized were size 10; Dannie Wolfe wears size 8.
As to the safe, which was recovered in the woods, an expert noted that the tool marks on the safe would not have come from the pry bar or crow bar that belonged to Wolfe. Rather, the marks were consistent with a screwdriver, a word that was added to Ms. Cox’s testimony between the time of her statement and deposition and the time of trial. In her videotaped statement, Ms. Cox describes sitting in the truck at the scene, and then “they” carried the safe out of the house and put it in the truck. Her trial testimony was that Dannie Wolfe carried the safe out by himself and put it in the truck. The size and weight of the safe do not specifically appear in the record, except that the prosecutor tells the jury in final argument that the state did not bring the safe to court, because it was too big. Photographs of the safe show it to be about the size of a single-drawer filing cabinet.
While Wolfe was in the Camden County jail, he was jailed with Paul Hileman who, as early as December 30, 1997, wrote a letter to the county jailer indicating that Wolfe had confessed to Hileman. There are a number of such letters over the months, leading up to trial, but Hileman was not disclosed as a witness until August 1998. There is some indication that when Hileman pleaded guilty in January 1998, there was an arrangement involving his *273testimony against Dannie Wolfe.7 Moreover, even after the late disclosure in August 1998, the prosecution did not turn over Hileman’s letters until shortly before trial. At trial, defense counsel used the letters orally to impeach Hileman by indicating that he was testifying against Wolfe in order to get out of jail. Hileman’s letters were admitted into evidence but the trial court judge refused to allow the letters to be displayed to the jury.8 Hileman also asked Phil Dayton, who was in jail with Hileman and Wolfe, to corroborate Hileman’s story about Wolfe’s confession, according to Dayton’s testimony.
The Impeachment of Jessica Cox
It is difficult to doubt that Jessica Cox was a companion or accomplice in the murders of Mr. and Mrs. Walters, regardless of when those murders may have occurred, whether it was on the early morning of February 20, later that day or evening, the next day, Friday, or even the next day, Saturday. Ms. Cox, for one thing, knew where the safe was located.
The prosecution’s theory was that she lied to her fiancé and others about being kidnapped because, as she testified, she “was afraid to tell [Allen Fair] because [she] was afraid to tell anybody because [she] was scared for [her] life.” However, when an engaged woman goes to a motel room of a man whom she has just met in a bar and spends the night in his company, some explanation for the woman’s activity may be needed, lest her flaneé draw an obvious conclusion as to what they did there. And, when the kidnapping he is exposed, a story finking her Wednesday overnight companion to the Walters murders serves the same purpose.
What the jury did not hear was how readily Ms. Cox has lied to law enforcement authorities in the past, and how her current testimony fits the pattern of previous lies. One prior occasion excluded by the trial court was that Ms. Cox had, some ten years previously, at age 12 or 13, stolen her stepfather’s truck and had an accident. After the accident she called the police and reported that she had been *274kidnapped, providing “extremely elaborate details” including a description of the person who kidnapped her, how the accident occurred, and how she had been injured in the accident. Based on Ms. Cox’s false report an individual was arrested and brought to the Camden County sheriff’s department. As the suspect was about to be booked, Ms. Cox confessed to fabricating the entire story.
A second lie is recounted in her deposition, where Ms. Cox acknowledged lying to law enforcement authorities about going to a man’s motel and being raped, a story she later recanted. Wolfe’s trial counsel did not try to impeach on this lie, but in view of the trial court’s ruling excluding the first incident, such an attempt probably would have been futile.
In Missouri, witnesses may be impeached by showing their bad character for truth and veracity, and this character may be shown by specific acts of misconduct as to truth and veracity. See John O’BRien, MissouRi Law of Evidence section 5-7 (3d ed.1996) (discussing cases). Specifically, a prior false report to law enforcement authorities is relevant on the issue of Ms. Cox’s credibility. As the court said in State v. Williams, 492 S.W.2d 1 (Mo.App.1973): “If she cannot be trusted to make a truthful report to authorities, the jury may reasonably infer that she cannot be trusted on the witness stand.” 492 S.W.2d at 6. Similarly, in State v. Summers, 506 S.W.3d 67 (Mo.App.1974), the court noted that “matters affecting the credibility of witnesses are always relevant and material particularly so when the state’s case rests on the testimony of self-confessed accomplices.” Id. at 73; see also 3A Wigmore on Evidence sections 982 and 985 (Chadbourn revision 1970); cf. Fed. R. Evid 608(b).
Both instances of prior lying are relevant, and, because they are admitted by the witness in sworn testimony, they do not call for extrinsic proof. Trial courts are given discretion in determining the scope of cross-examination, principally so that the trial court can keep the examination inquiry focused on relevant issues and to avoid having trials within trials on past conduct that would seem to be collateral. See State v. Isa, 850 S.W.2d 876 (Mo. banc 1993); State v. Kirk, 636 S.W.2d 952 (Mo. banc 1982); State v. Dunn, 577 S.W.2d 649 (Mo. banc 1979). But, as the principal opinion notes, impeaching testimony should be confined to the real and ultimate object of the inquiry, which is the reputation of the witness for truth and veracity. State v. Williams, 337 Mo. 884, 87 S.W.2d 175 (1935).
Though trial courts are granted discretion in determining the scope of cross-examination, discretion without limits is lawlessness. As the court in Summers concluded, discretion cannot be used “to insulate error arising from undue restriction of the right of cross-examination as to relevant and material matters.” 506 S.W.2d 67 at 73. It adds nothing to say that these prior lies are too remote-that is a matter for the jury to decide when determining what weight to give them. State v. Williams, 922 S.W.2d 845, 853 (Mo.App.1996). Prior instances of false reports to the police are certainly relevant and, thus, are proper subjects for cross-examination. See Williams, 492 S.W.2d at 5-6. Cross-examination on matters relevant to a witness’s credibility is not only a right afforded by our common law of evidence, but is guaranteed by the confrontation clause of article VI of the United States Constitution. See Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308, 94 S.Ct. 1105, 39 L.Ed.2d 347 (1974); Delaware v. Van Arsdall, 475 U.S. 673, 106 S.Ct. 1431, 89 L.Ed.2d 674 (1986). Because Missouri’s common law cases afford the cross-examination sought by Wolfe in this instance, it is not necessary to reach the confrontation issue.
The principal opinion in section III discusses impeachment by showing of prior bad acts, which differs from the kind of impeachment sought here. The principal opinion focuses on case law addressing pri- or bad acts of a witness, e.g., a charge of *275second-degree murder in State v. Lockhart, 507 S.W.2d 395 (Mo.1974), rather than on case law that establishes impeachment by showing bad character for truth and veracity through evidence of specific prior acts of untruthfulness, as in the false report to authorities in Williams, 492 S.W.2d at 6. If Ms. Cox’s prior acts had involved prostitution, or the commission of a violent act, they would not be allowed because they do not bear on the issue of character for truth and veracity. O’BRien, supra, section 5-7. Thus the authorities discussed in the principal opinion are correct, but do not apply to the current case.
The exclusion of Ms. Cox’s prior lies certainly is prejudicial. Without this character background, the jury could well conclude that her false kidnapping story was simply occasioned by her fear of defendant Dannie Wolfe. With the proper impeachment, the jury might conclude that she is inclined to tell such lies even to authorities when she is in a difficult situation, such as the present instance when an explanation is needed as to what she was doing when she stayed out all night with Dannie Wolfe.
The Trial Court’s Rulings Denied Wolfe the Right to Present a Defense
The state frankly concedes that the prosecutor violated Rule 25.03(A)(2) by the six to seven month delay in disclosing Paul Hileman as a witness and in the even later disclosure of letters written by Hileman. The late disclosure of the letters did lead to Phil Dayton, a man who was in jail with Wolfe and Hileman. After its investigation, two days before trial, defense counsel moved for a continuance to pursue what it learned from Dayton — that a “Terry Smith” had been planning to rob the Walters couple and had asked Dayton to join in the effort. Dayton ultimately was unable to participate in the planned robbery, because he was confined in the Jackson County jail, but burglar Dayton also testified, in an offer of proof, that “I’m not a robber, so I wouldn’t participate in the crime with Terry.” Dayton also linked Terry Smith to a .25 caliber handgun. Testimony of Barbara Reeder was presented by the defense in an offer of proof; the witness, who was acquainted with Ms. Cox and Terry Smith, placed Jessica Cox in the company of Terry Smith near the same time that these murders were committed.
All references to Terry Smith apparently were excluded by the trial court’s ruling, consistent with the prosecutor’s argument that “the general law that the sort of evidence that appears to be suggested in this motion is nonadmissible, that is, it is not allowable for the defendant to suggest that someone else did it without some direct evidence of that being correct. In other words, you can’t float out a red herring, proposed alternative theories in the midst of a trial without direct evidence that someone else committed this murder.” (emphasis added).
Dayton testified, but was not questioned about Terry Smith; the record is unclear as to whether this was due to the court’s previous ruling. Barbara Reeder did not testify before the jury, presumably because of the court’s exclusionary ruling.
The defense’s other attempt to present its theory was through its subpoena of a former roommate of Ms. Cox, whose affidavit, as noted above, avers that Ms. Cox told her that she was in the company of two men other than Dannie Wolfe who murdered the Walters couple. The former roommate did not appear pursuant to the subpoena, and the trial court denied any continuance for the purpose of locating the witness. The trial court correctly ruled that the affidavit could not be used for impeachment. While the matter of a continuance is within the trial court's discretion, State v. Reece, 505 S.W.2d 50, 52 (Mo.1974), the roommate matter does emphasize that the defense had a supportable theory that others had committed this crime, not Dannie Wolfe. In denying a continuance the trial court may consider the likelihood that the witness will be *276found. State v. Oliver, 572 S.W.2d 440, 445 (Mo. banc 1978). But where the matter is so important, as in this case, it seems inherently unreasonable to deny even an overnight continuance for an opportunity to find the witness and enforce the subpoena. It was later learned at Wolfe’s hearing for a new trial that the roommate’s family knew her whereabouts at the time of Wolfe’s trial.
The right of a defendant to avail himself of any and all defenses is well established and constitutionally protected. State v. Carothers, 748 S.W.2d 489, 491 (Mo.App.1987); Mo. Const, art. I, section 18(a). To utilize a defense theory of innocence, no matter how unlikely the theory, one must only show that “ ‘the most favorable construction of the evidence supports it.’” Carothers, 743 S.W.2d at 491 (citing State v. Kinard, 245 S.W.2d 890, 893 (Mo.1952)). Here, Wolfe had evidence to support a theory that someone else was responsible for the murders of the Walters. Under the trial court’s rulings, Wolfe was not permitted to present this theory.9
Dannie Wolfe was convicted of the murders of Lena and Leonard Walters without any physical evidence linking him to these crimes. He was convicted on the testimony of Jessica Cox, after the trial court excluded relevant impeaching evidence. The jury also was precluded from hearing evidence to suggest that persons other than Wolfe committed these murders. These legal errors warrant a new trial.
Jurors were chosen from another venue, presumably to get unbiased jurors who had not heard extensive media reports of the official version of these crimes. But the rulings discussed herein show that Wolfe did not receive a fair trial.
The American jury trial is a search for truth, not a ceremony to confirm official truth. The limitations on cross-examination and the preclusion of a substantial defense theory thwarted a proper search for the truth. A new trial should be granted.
This Court’s Independent Review
In death penalty cases, section 565.035 calls on this Court to make a review of the whole record, independent of the findings and conclusions of the judge and jury, and to assess, among other matters, “the strength of the evidence.” Section 565.035.3(3). State v. Chaney, 967 S.W.2d 47 (Mo. banc 1998).
If there was strong evidence that Wolfe committed these murders, the death penalty would be appropriate under the law and the facts of these crimes. These were brutal, bloody and thoroughly despicable murders of an elderly couple to rob them. A careful review of the record in this case leaves considerable doubt as to whether or not Dannie Wolfe committed these murders.
The state’s case rests largely on the testimony of Ms. Cox. Her story has numerous flaws, is refuted as to the time of death, and is unsupported by any physical evidence linking Wolfe to these murders. That leaves the jailhouse confession story told by Paul Hileman, whose testimony proves only that he would say anything to get out of prison. The prosecution’s late disclosure of Hileman and even later disclosure of his letters, conceded to be violations of our rules, can most charitably be construed as a reluctance to use this witness at all. This Court should be especially reluctant to rely on this testimony to affirm a sentence of death.
*277In Chaney, this Court, in a 4-3 split, affirmed a murder conviction but, upon assessing the strength of the evidence, set aside the death sentence under the proportionality review statute, section 565.085. 967 S.W.2d at 60. If the three dissenting judges — Covington, Robertson and White — were correct that there was insufficient evidence to sustain a conviction, the defendant may be wrongly imprisoned but at least he will not be wrongly executed. In Chaney, there was physical evidence linking the defendant to the victim at the time the murder occurred, and evidence of concealment by defendant, as well as other circumstantial evidence that the majority found sufficient to support the verdict. But, as the principal opinion notes, there was no eyewitness, unlike this case where the principal opinion affirms a sentence of death on the basis of Jessica Cox’s story. If there is a difference between this case-where there is no physical evidence linking Wolfe to these murders, and Chaney, where there is such evidence - it is that there was stronger evidence in Chaney than in this case.
In Chaney, this Court followed the statute and reviewed the strength of the evidence to ascertain whether the death penalty should be imposed. The principal opinion now refers to that review as being asked to serve as a thirteenth or “super” juror. However, in Chaney, the Court acted as a super juror because the statute so requires and the Court found the evidence too weak to justify the death sentence - contrary to the jury’s finding. The majority chooses to examine only the evidence and inferences favorable to the verdict in making its review in this case. That standard is appropriate to determine whether' the evidence supports the conviction. The jury here believed the testimony of Ms. Cox or Hileman, or both, and that testimony is sufficient to uphold this conviction (putting aside, for now, the evi-dentiary rulings that would warrant a new trial).
A review of all of the evidence, not just the evidence favorable to the verdict, should be constitutionally required as a matter of due process of law.10 The United States Supreme Court interprets the due process clause of the 14tt Amendment to require such a review when punitive damages are assessed against a defendant. See Honda Motor Co. Ltd. v. Oberg, 512 U.S. 415, 114 S.Ct. 2331, 129 L.Ed.2d 336 (1994) and BMW of North America v. Gore, 517 U.S. 559, 116 S.Ct. 1589, 134 L.Ed.2d 809 (1996). Oberg, for example, post-verdict determination that there was evidence to support the jury’s verdict was held to be insufficient to satisfy due process and that “judicial review of the amount awarded” is a required procedural safeguard. 512 U.S. at 432, 114 S.Ct. 2331. Similarly, Gore teaches that the reviewing court must be satisfied that the punitive-damages defendant’s conduct was sufficiently “reprehensible” so that the punishment imposed is not disproportionate, 517 U.S. at 575, 116 S.Ct. 1589. If that is the standard for reviewing punitive damages judgments in civil cases, can we justify a lesser standard where the defendant faces a punishment that requires not a loss of money but his life?
The question is particularly pertinent in this case. Where there is no physical evidence linking Wolfe to these killings, we must determine whether the testimony here was sufficiently believable to justify a death sentence.11
The purpose of the review required by section 565.035.3 is to safeguard against execution of those who may not be guilty.
This review is not just for the defendant, it is for ourselves. The honorable reputa*278tion of our legal system is tarnished by ordering the execution of those who may not be guilty.
By examining only the evidence and inferences favorable to the verdict, the majority is willing to bet the honor of our system on the word of a witness who has trouble with the truth and a jailhouse snitch. I am unwilling to take that gamble.
Section 565.035 requires an independent review. A review of the record leaves substantial doubt as to Wolfe’s guilt. To vote to affirm the sentence of death on the strength of this record is simply indefensible.
Conclusion
Dannie Wolfe should be granted a new trial. If not, at least his death sentence should be set aside under section 565.035 because of the likelihood that otherwise he will be executed for crimes he did not commit.

. Perhaps it is a minor point but the record shows that Wolfe spells his first name Dannie — contrary to the spelling used by the state, counsel, and the principal opinion.

. State v. Grim, 854 S.W.2d 403, 413-414, (Mo. banc 1993),.cited by the principal opinion for the proposition that this Court "does not sit as a thirteenth or super juror,” is not a death penalty case and should not be used to denigrate our statutory duty under section 565.035.3(2) to consider the strength of the evidence when determining whether the death sentence is appropriate. State v. Dulany, 781 S.W.2d 52 (Mo. banc 1989), is a death penalty case, but there was not an issue as to the strength of the evidence under section 565.035.3(2). This Court also is specifically directed, in death penalty cases, by section 565.035.7 to assess the "factual substantiation of the verdict.” In most cases, the standard *267used by the principal opinion is correct, but where, as here, an examination to determine the prejudice to Wolfe in the trial court’s rulings, as well as to determine whether this verdict is supported by sufficiently strong evidence to justify a death sentence, a more complete review of the record is required. See discussion in the section of this opinion headed "This Court's Independent Review,” infra.

. Throughout the record the Williamsburg Inn is referred to as a hotel or motel. According to Ms. Cox’s testimony, there was a hallway, living room, bedroom, and kitchenette and it appeared that Wolfe was staying there because there were clothes and children’s toys on the floor. The Williamsburg Inn register, admitted into evidence, shows that Dannie Wolfe had rented the unit for the month of February. He paid $450.00 for the month. A previous residence was a homeless shelter.

. In his motion for rehearing, Wolfe for the first time raises the contention that the prosecuting attorney has no authority under Missouri law to grant immunity, citing our deci*269sion in State ex rel. Munn v. McKelvey, 733 S.W.2d 765, 768-769 (Mo. banc 1987). It seems possible that defense trial counsel wished to use the immunity agreement to cross-examine Ms. Cox, and thus the failure to object may have been strategic. Obviously, as well, this Court has not reached the issue of whether the immunity agreement violated Rule 4-3.4(b) of the Rules of Professional Conduct by allegedly offering "an inducement to a witness that is prohibited by law,” and, if so, whether the trial judge should have intervened even absent an objection.

. A kind of work glove used in many occupations.

. Dannie Wolfe did not go to California. In the days that followed his encounter with Ms. Cox, unlike Ms. Cox, Wolfe was able to tell police his whereabouts. He finished his painting on Thursday and received a payment check, rented a moving truck and drove to Kansas City to pick up his girlfriend, drove to Liberty, Missouri to pay court tickets, and returned to Lake Ozark. His girlfriend decided not to move to Lake Ozark as she had originally planned, so Wolfe brought the rented truck back early and received a refund of some of the rental fee.

. Paul Hileman testified before the jury that he did not receive any deals on his pending charges in exchange for his testimony against Dannie Wolfe. However, in a pretrial motion to exclude Hileman as a witness due to the conceded discovery violation, his public defender testified that he had discussions with the prosecutor regarding Hileman’s charges. Although Hileman’s cases were scheduled to be heard in June 1998, the prosecutor instructed the public defender that the cases would be continued until after Hileman testified in Wolfe's trial. The public defender did not testify before the jury.
Additionally, the prosecutor withheld from the defense the "Breen Questionnaires,” which were materials from a Highway Patrol investigation of alleged drug use in the Miller County jail that centered around charges made by Hileman. The trial court conducted an in camera review of the materials but did not issue a ruling. By this Court’s order, the materials were sent here and reviewed. The only document that might be germane to the Wolfe case is a report dated March 20, 1998, from Sgt. T.L. Breen, the investigator, that states in part: "I had requested through the prosecutor’s office to polygraph Paul A. Hile-man, the witness in the case, to verify his allegations against the jail staff.... [I]t was his (the prosecutor’s) instructions that the case be suspended until further notice from his office.” Reference to whether a witness did or did not take a polygraph is inadmissible, State v. Biddle, 599 S.W.2d 182 (Mo. banc 1980), and in the case of this particular kind of witness, the results would be highly questionable. See Timothy B. Henseler, Comment, A Critical Look at the Admissibility of Polygraph Evidence in the Wake of Daubert: The Lie Detector Fails the Test, 46 Cath. U.L. Rev. 1247, 1251-1259 (1997). The only inference that could be made is that, as of March 20, 1998, the date of Sgt. Breen’s report, five months before disclosure of Hileman as a witness against Wolfe, the prosecutor planned to use Hileman. The state has conceded the discovery violation, as discussed in the text.

. The Hileman letters were not published to the jury, including those that specifically discuss Dannie Wolfe. By contrast, the trial court judge did allow the immunity agreement between Jessica Cox and the prosecutor to be published to the jury. The court allowed a copy of the immunity agreement to be given to each juror, and the prosecutor was permitted to emphasize that the agreement required her to "tell the truth.”

. Wolfe’s brief raises the denial of continuance both as to the Dayton testimony and as to the former roommate witness, who failed to appear to testify. The briefs "points relied on” do not specifically assert that the trial court’s rulings excluding references to Terry Smith constituted a denial of the defendant's right to present a defense. However, that right is so fundamental that it should be reached by way of plain error analysis even if it cannot be fairly read into the points raised in Wolfe's brief. See State v. Moon, 602 S.W.2d 828, 837 (Mo.App.1980).

. But see Pulley v. Harris, 465 U.S. 37, 104 S.Ct. 871, 79 L.Ed.2d 29 (1984), which holds that the Eighth Amendment does not require a proportionality review in a state’s death penalty scheme.

. At least in Chaney there was physical evidence that defendant was with the victim in the place where the killing occurred. There is no such evidence here.