Kenyon v. State
| Decision Date | 27 August 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. 02-253.,02-253. |
| Parties | Harland Pierre KENYON, Appellant (Defendant), v. The STATE of Wyoming, Appellee (Plaintiff). |
| Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
Representing Appellant: Kenneth M. Koski, State Public Defender; Donna D. Domonkos, Appellate Counsel. Argument by Ms. Domonkos.
Representing Appellee: Patrick J. Crank, Wyoming Attorney General; Paul S. Rehurek, Deputy Attorney General; D. Michael Pauling, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Dee Morgan, Assistant Attorney General. Argument by Ms. Morgan.
Before HILL, C.J., and GOLDEN, LEHMAN, KITE, and VOIGT, JJ.
[¶ 1] Following a jury trial, Appellant Harland Pierre Kenyon was convicted of first degree premeditated murder, for which he received a sentence of life without parole, aggravated burglary, kidnapping, and battery. Kenyon was charged with and convicted of these crimes for domestic violence against a former girlfriend and the shooting death of her brother. On appeal, Kenyon claims that the recent statutory amendment adding life imprisonment without parole as a penalty for first degree murder violates due process, that insufficient evidence supports his convictions, and that numerous trial errors warrant reversal.
[¶ 2] We hold that the life imprisonment without parole provision of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-2-101(c) (LexisNexis 2003) does not violate due process and Kenyon's convictions and sentences should be affirmed on all issues.
[¶ 3] Kenyon presents the following statement of the issues for our review:
The State rephrases the issues as:
[¶ 4] Kenyon and Danielle Kelley, both methamphetamine addicts, began living together in the summer of 2000. The relationship was abusive, and Kenyon physically assaulted Kelley on numerous occasions. In March of 2001, the couple was living in California, but because of the abuse she was suffering, Kelley moved to Cody, Wyoming, to live with her brother, Justin Ritter. Kenyon soon found her, and the two reconciled in Cody. At Mr. Ritter's invitation, Kenyon began living in the apartment with Kelley and Ritter.
[¶ 5] On April 10, 2001, Kenyon and Kelley argued, and he choked Kelley until she lost consciousness several times. Kenyon confined Kelley inside the apartment for two days, threatening to kill her if she went near a door. She escaped while Kenyon was in the shower and was taken to the hospital but refused medical treatment. Fearing that he would be arrested, Kenyon left Cody and called Kelley about a week later to apologize for the incident. When she refused to renew the relationship, Kenyon called the apartment repeatedly. Ritter would not let Kenyon speak to Kelley, and Kenyon threatened Ritter's life. Ritter reported the threats to the police, applied for a restraining order, obtained a gun from his mother and blocked doors with shovels to prevent Kenyon from breaking into the apartment.
[¶ 6] Kenyon drove to Cody and, on May 4, 2001, parked on another street away from the apartment, made sure no one was in the apartment, and then entered the apartment armed with a crowbar, which he traded for the gun that he found inside. Kenyon may have had a key to Ritter's apartment, and although Ritter noticed the door was unlocked, Ritter and his fiancée, Amanda Payne, entered Ritter's apartment. Ritter screamed, and Payne turned to see Kenyon pointing a gun at Ritter. Kenyon demanded to know where Kelley was and, when Ritter told him to leave, struck Ritter with a closed fist. Ritter told Kenyon that Kelley was in jail, and Kenyon struck him again. Bleeding, Ritter stood to get a rag, and Kenyon put the gun inside of Ritter's mouth, forcing him to sit down, and again struck him. Payne was crouched in a corner comforting her crying two-year-old son. After Kenyon reached for some duct tape, saying he wanted to shut the kid up, Ritter went to the front door, opened it and told Kenyon to leave. Kenyon ordered Ritter away from the door, again threatening to kill him. Ritter told Payne to leave, and as she approached the door, Kenyon told her he would kill Ritter if she left. Payne returned to the corner with her son. Ritter again told her to leave, and as she started for the door she heard the gun discharge. Ritter, shot in the chest, collapsed outside of his door. Kenyon fled out the back door. Ritter died soon after arriving at the hospital from a single gunshot wound to the chest. Kenyon was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada. He admitted shooting Ritter but claimed it was an accident. [¶ 7] Kenyon was charged with committing first degree murder1 and aggravated burglary2 on or about May 4, 2001, and kidnapping3 and battery4 on or about April 8, 2001, and April 12, 2001. The State later amended the first degree murder charge to describe its penalty as "death, life imprisonment without parole, or life imprisonment." The State provided notice that it intended to offer W.R.E 404(b) and W.R.E. 609 evidence of twenty-one incidents involving nine people. Upon defense objection, a hearing was held, and eight of these incidents were ruled inadmissible. A jury trial was held, and Kenyon testified in his own defense. He was convicted of first degree murder, aggravated burglary, kidnapping and battery. Upon State notice of intent to seek life imprisonment without parole, Kenyon filed a motion, contending that § 6-2-101(c) violated the due process clause under the federal and state constitutions; federal precedent prohibits sentence enhancement without a jury finding; and a sentence of life without parole was not warranted. The district court ruled the statute was constitutional and sentenced Kenyon to life without parole for first degree murder, with lesser sentences for his other convictions. This appeal followed.
[¶ 8] One who attacks the constitutionality of a statute assumes the burden of establishing his contention clearly and beyond a reasonable doubt. In determining such issues we start with a presumption of constitutionality of the legislative enactment, and it is our rule of jurisprudence that we should resolve any reasonable doubts as to constitutionality by upholding the statute if possible. * * * With respect to his standing to raise such an issue the rule is that, with the limited exception of challenges to statutes that broadly prohibit speech protected by the First Amendment, a party must demonstrate the manner in which his own rights are adversely affected in light of the circumstances before the court in order to present his constitutional challenge.
[¶ 9] The statute governing sentencing for first degree premeditated murder states:
A person convicted of murder in the first degree in a case in which the state seeks the death penalty shall be sentenced in accordance with the provisions of W.S. § 6-2-102. In all other cases, including any case in which the state has determined not to seek the death penalty at any stage of the proceeding, the judge shall determine the sentence of life imprisonment without parole or life imprisonment taking into consideration any negotiated plea agreement and any evidence relevant to a determination of sentence which the court deems to have probative value.
Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-2-101(c) (LexisNexis 2003).
[¶ 10] Kenyon contends that the statute is unconstitutional because it fails to guide the trial court in sentencing and denies this Court the ability to review the trial court's imposition of life imprisonment without parole; because it allows the trial court instead of a jury to sentence a defendant to life imprisonment without parole in violation of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 490, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000); and because the State did not give notice to the defendant that it would be seeking life imprisonment without parole until just before the sentencing hearing.
[¶ 11] Sentencing is a critical stage of a criminal proceeding and must satisfy the requirements of due process; however, sentencing does not implicate the entire spectrum of criminal trial procedural rights. Christy...
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