State v. Johnson
| Decision Date | 10 December 1977 |
| Docket Number | No. 48797,48797 |
| Citation | 573 P.2d 994,223 Kan. 237 |
| Parties | STATE of Kansas, Appellee, v. Noble Leroy JOHNSON, Appellant. |
| Court | Kansas Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court
The record is examined in an appeal from a conviction of two counts of first degree murder and it is held the trial court did not err (1) in refusing to direct the jury to return a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity; (2) in finding the defendant knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to invoke the marital privilege; and (3) in finding the defendant knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to have counsel present when making a statement to law enforcement officers.
Robert M. Green, El Dorado, argued the cause and was on the brief for appellant.
Geary Gorup, County Atty., argued the cause and Curt T. Schneider, Atty. Gen., was with him on the brief for appellee.
This is an appeal by defendant-appellant from a jury trial convicting defendant of two counts of murder in the first degree. (K.S.A. 21-3401).
On Saturday, September 6, 1975, a double murder was committed in El Dorado. The murdered persons were Thomas Woodyard and Darlene Beech Woodyard. The bodies, found by the landlady on Tuesday evening, September 9, 1975, were horribly mutilated and it would serve no useful purpose to describe them further.
Noble Leroy Johnson, the defendant, and Linda Johnson, his wife, were close friends of the deceased couple. On that fateful Saturday night the two families dined together at the Johnson house. During the police investigation the Johnsons were questioned and asserted they had not seen the Woodyards since Saturday evening. Noble Johnson also stated he had not been to the Woodyard house since Saturday except early Monday morning to pick up Tom Woodyard to go to work, but that no one was home.
On Wednesday, September 10, 1975, autopsies were performed, which indicated the time of death to be a few hours after the victims' last meal at the Johnson residence Saturday night. On Wednesday evening, a Wichita man, Phillip Pless, was watching area television news reports of the murders when he recognized the Woodyard home. Pless contacted the Wichita Police Department and told police that while making deliveries in the El Dorado area he stopped at the Woodyard residence at approximately ten o'clock a. m. Tuesday, September 9, 1975. Pless advised that he knocked on the door but got no response although he heard noises inside the house. As Pless left the residence to continue his deliveries, he observed a man crouching down behind the Woodyard residence. From a display of several photographs, Pless identified Noble Leroy Johnson as the man he observed behind the Woodyard residence on Tuesday morning.
Noble Leroy Johnson and his wife were found at different locations by law enforcement officers on Thursday morning, September 11, 1975, and taken to the police station for questioning. They were transported in different cars and questioned individually in separate areas of the building. Linda Johnson gave a detailed oral statement, regarding the events of Saturday evening and the days thereafter, which directly implicated her husband in the two killings.
While Linda Johnson was talking with law enforcement officers in one area of the building, her husband was being questioned in a different area of the building. Noble Johnson was given the Miranda warnings prior to questioning by the officers. He indicated that he understood his rights, and that he wished to waive those rights and talk with the officers. His statements, however, did not constitute an admission of guilt. During questioning the defendant asked if he could talk to his preacher, Lyle Curtis. Questioning was suspended; Pastor Curtis was contacted and came to the police station where questioning was resumed with Pastor Curtis remaining in attendance. At the direction of the county attorney, the interrogating officers attempted to explain the provisions of the Kansas law on marital privilege. The officers and Pastor Curtis later testified that in their opinion defendant made aware of the marital privilege and that he knowingly consented to the officers questioning Linda. It is the state's contention that at this point defendant waived his right to assert the marital privilege. A sworn statement was then taken from Linda Johnson in another part of the building.
Defendant was arrested, appeared before a magistrate and counsel was appointed that same day. Defendant remained in custody and, while incarcerated, Undersheriff John Fee cultivated his friendship and had several conversations with him. On September 19, 1975, during one of these conversations John Fee advised defendant of his Miranda rights and asked him to relate what had happened the night of Saturday, September 6, 1975. No attempt was made by Fee to contact defendant's counsel. At this time defendant gave John Fee an oral statement describing his version of the events of that Saturday night. The statement placed defendant at the scene of the murders and was exculpatory as to the homicide of the female victim and indicated some sort of justifiable homicide as to the male victim.
Defense counsel filed a claim of marital privilege to prevent the testimony of Linda Johnson, and a motion to suppress the statements made by the defendant. At a Jackson v. Denno type hearing, the claim of marital privilege and motion to suppress the defendant's statements were denied. Defendant filed notice of his intent to rely on a defense of not guilty by reason of insanity. At the direction of the court, defendant was examined by James R. Leach, D.O., and and B. E. White, M.D., and found competent to stand trial. Defendant was convicted by a jury of murder in the first degree on both counts and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. Appropriate motions were made during trial objecting to the admission of testimony of Linda Johnson and testimony by the officers relating their conversations with the defendant. Upon denial of defendant's motion for a new trial, he appeals to this court.
Defendant alleges four points of error on appeal:
Defendant in his first point on appeal insists the Court should have directed the jury to return a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. Defendant introduced extensive evidence in support of his defense of insanity including his own testimony, which covers some seventy pages of the transcript. His testimony and actions in court were, to say the least, bizarre in many respects and certainly could lead one to the conclusion that defendant was mentally ill, if not legally insane. Defendant's mother, father and other family members testified to his strange behavior almost from the time of birth. Steve Shelton, M.D., a psychiatrist, who had examined the defendant at the request of the State, was called as a witness for the defendant. His opinion was that defendant was potentially violent and dangerous, was psychotic on the night of the murders and at the time of the murders was not capable of distinguishing right from wrong.
The state presented evidence in rebuttal to sustain its position that defendant was not legally insane at the time of the murders. Included was the testimony of Dr. James R. Leach, Clinical Director and Psychiatrist at the South Central Mental Health Center in Butler County. Dr. Leach diagnosed the defendant as being an "explosive, antisocial personality," suffering from a number of personality disorders but felt that defendant knew the difference between right and wrong at the time of the murders.
In addition to direct evidence to refute the defense of insanity there was other testimony indicating defendant's awareness of the nature of his acts. Mrs. Johnson testified that when defendant returned home from the Woodyard residence on Saturday night he made her wash the blood from his boots and clothes, stated to her, "God will never forgive me for what I did tonight," and went to great lengths to conceal the crime. Statements by the defendant to police officers and John Fee indicated he knew what he had done was wrong and that he knew so at the time of the murders.
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