McMILLAN, Judge
The appellant was indicted for (1) assault in the first degree, a violation of § 13A-6-20, Ala.Code 1975, for shooting Sharion D. Walker, (2) discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling, see § 13A-11-61, Ala.Code 1975, and (3) capital murder, for intentionally murdering Tracy Baker with a gun in the course of kidnapping her, see § 13A-5-40(a)(1), Ala.Code 1975. The appellant pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental defect to all three charges; however, he withdrew the plea of not guilty by reason of mental defect before trial. The appellant was found guilty of all three charges and, following a sentencing hearing, the jury, on the capital murder conviction, by a vote of 10-2, returned an advisory verdict of death. Following a separate sentencing hearing and the submission of a presentence report, the trial court sentenced the appellant to death on the capital murder conviction, to life imprisonment for the assault-in-the-first-degree conviction, and to life imprisonment for the discharging-a-firearm-into-a-dwelling conviction.
The trial judge, in his sentencing order, summarized the crime and the appellant's participation in it as follows:
"On October 18, 1991, Bobby Baker, Jr., and Tracy Nesia Wynn were married in Houston County, Alabama. Right after their marriage, and in fact, on November 17, 1993, domestic problems surfaced in their marriage. In every incident reported, and there were at least seven such incidences, Baker was reported to have assaulted his wife, harassed her, on one occasion rammed the car she was riding in, and on another occasion held her against her will for approximately one week.
"On the date of this offense, which was April 5, 1994, Baker and his wife had apparently been separated for some time. Earlier in the day on the date of this offense, Tracy Baker was at a residence on Short Atlanta Street in Dothan with some friends. One of those friends happened to be a male acquaintance who she had been talking with and, apparently, her husband, Bobby Baker, was aware of this. As Baker's wife and these other friends were leaving this residence, Baker became involved in an altercation with this male friend of his wife. According to witness' accounts, Baker assaulted this male and threatened to kill him for his involvement with his wife. However, Baker and this male were separated at that time and both went their separate ways.
"According to statements obtained by police, Ezederick Eady and Bobby Baker were riding around in Baker's car after the altercation. Eady stated that Baker was very upset with his wife and that he made statements indicating that he was going to hurt her and anyone that had been involved with her. While Baker and Eady were riding around, they picked up another friend, Byron Johnson. Statements from Eady and Johnson indicated that Baker was inquiring as to where he could buy a firearm that night. Sometime during the early part of the evening, Baker went to a residence located on Enterprise Street and obtained what was described as a long weapon that was wrapped in some type of cloth.
"Baker, Eady, and Johnson were riding in Baker's car and Eady was driving the vehicle. It was reported that Baker directed Eady to drive this vehicle to the residence of Sharon[1] Walker who was a cousin of his wife, Tracy Baker. Eady drove this vehicle to Walker's residence at 727 Hutchins Street in Dothan and Baker exited the vehicle with this firearm. Witness' accounts indicate that Baker approached the residence and became engaged in a conversation with Sharion Walker. Baker was inquiring as to the whereabouts of Tracy, and Sharion Walker kept telling Baker she did not know where she was. Baker made several threats towards Walker if she did not cooperate with him, and when it appeared she was not going to cooperate, he raised what is described as a AK-47 assault rifle towards Walker's residence and fired through the front door. A number of people were in this residence at the time Baker fired through the front door, including Walker's children as well as Tracy Baker. Baker entered the residence after firing through the front door and a short time thereafter found his wife, Tracy, hiding in one of the rooms. He forced her along with Sharion Walker to leave the residence telling them that they were going with him and he was going to talk to his wife. Johnson and Eady, who were waiting in the car, were initially told by Baker to leave and to come back and pick him up later. However, when they heard the shooting they returned to the scene and were waiting for Baker. Baker came to the vehicle with Tracy and Sharion Walker and ordered both of them to get in the vehicle. Tracy Baker kept telling her husband that she was not going with him, and she knew that he was going to kill her if she did. Sharion Walker kept telling Baker that she did not want to leave her children at home alone, and that she did not want to go with him either. However, Baker forced his wife into the vehicle and, at that point, Sharion Walker refused to get into the vehicle. Baker raised the assault rifle and fired what is believed to be two shots at Sharion Walker hitting her in both legs. At that point, Baker got into the backseat of his vehicle with his wife and ordered Eady to drive away.
"Eady drove the vehicle a short distance away to the dead end of Enterprise Street where he stopped the vehicle. Both Johnson and Eady stated that Baker was continuously arguing with his wife and at times pointing the gun in various directions. Baker was telling Tracy during the ride that he was going to kill everyone who ever had anything to do with her. He also stated that all he wanted to do was to talk to her. When the car stopped on Enterprise Street, Baker got out of the car holding the rifle. He ordered Tracy to get out of the car but she refused stating that she knew he was going to kill her. Tracy Baker asked Eady several times to drive off while Baker was outside of the vehicle but he did not do so. When Tracy continued to refuse to exit the vehicle, he pointed the rifle into the car towards Tracy Baker and began firing. The autopsy report reveals that Tracy Baker was hit five times with bullets from the AK-47 assault rifle that Baker was firing in her direction. When Baker began shooting, both Johnson and Eady began running from the vehicle. One round from the assault rifle hit Eady in the chest area and he ran a short distance from the vehicle before he fell down. Residents who live in the area of Enterprise Street and Terrell Street also heard and saw the shooting and police responded to both this scene as well as the shooting of Walker on Hutchins Street. Both Eady and Johnson report seeing Baker flee the scene after the shooting and neither had any further contact with him.
"Police who responded to the scene of the shooting of Sharion Walker on Hutchins Street were advised by Walker that Bobby Baker had been the one who had committed the assault on her and had abducted his wife, Tracy. Police were also dispatched to the scene of the shooting at Enterprise Street and Terrell Street where Tracy Baker had been shot. Police recovered the assault rifle that Baker dropped as he fled the scene of the shooting. A look-out was posted for Baker and it was not until the following day that Baker was located when he turned himself in at the police department.
"On April 6, 1994, at approximately 11:00 a.m., Baker was advised of his rights by police investigators and gave a statement. Initially he stated that he had gone to the house on Hutchins Street and had fired into it with a .22 caliber rifle. He denied any knowledge of a SKS7.62 assault rifle. He also stated that Tracy got into the vehicle of her own free will and it was at that point that he noticed some people coming after them in a white car. He stated that he and Johnson jumped out of the vehicle on Enterprise Street and left Eady and Baker in the car and he denied shooting his wife stating that those people who were following them must have done it. After being confronted with a statement given by Johnson, Baker then advised that he would tell investigators the truth. He stated that Eady and Johnson rented the assault rifle from Donnie Flournoy for $200 worth of base cocaine. He further stated that Eady drove him to Sharion Walker's house where he confronted Walker and then fired the rifle through the storm door demanding to know where his wife was. After finding Tracy in the residence, he says that Tracy got into the vehicle and that after arguing with Sharion Walker, he fired the weapon, but did not know he had hit her. After driving off with his wife in the vehicle, and stopping on Enterprise Street, he stated that he did not mean to kill her but that he shot into the car just trying to scare her. Baker admitted to arguing with his wife, ordering her to get out of the car and also hearing her tell him she would not get in because she knew he was going to kill her. Baker stated that he got out of the car and started shooting. Baker was initially arrested by police and charged with Assault I and Discharging a Gun Into an Occupied Building. Later he was charged with Capital Murder in regards to the shooting of Tracy Baker."
The appellant argues that the trial court erred in denying his request for new counsel, which he made before and during the trial; he especially refers to his allegation that it was the district attorney, rather than defense counsel, who discovered that he was eligible for youthful offender status. In his argument in his brief to this court on this matter, the appellant refers to the fact that...
