State v. Baker, 92,870.
| Decision Date | 09 June 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 92,870.,92,870. |
| Citation | 135 P.3d 1098 |
| Parties | STATE of Kansas, Appellee, v. Lynwood M. BAKER, Appellant. |
| Court | Kansas Supreme Court |
Heather Cessna, assistant appellate defender, was on the brief and argued the cause for appellant.
David Lowden, assistant district attorney, argued the cause, and Kristi L. Barton, assistant district attorney, and Phill Kline, attorney general, were with him on the brief for appellee.
Lynwood Baker appeals his conviction for first-degree premeditated murder for the shooting death of Gerard Fields, claiming that (1) the trial court erroneously allowed a police officer to testify regarding the credibility of another witness; (2) the jury should have been instructed about sympathy; (3) the jury should have been instructed on assisted suicide as a lesser included offense; (4) the trial court improperly excluded evidence of Baker's defense; (5) the prosecutor committed misconduct during the examination of a witness and closing arguments; (6) he was denied a fair trial by cumulative errors; (7) there was insufficient evidence to support his hard 50 sentence; (8) the hard 50 sentence is unconstitutional.
In July 2003, Gerard Fields was a bedridden paraplegic. His paralysis was a result of a bullet that lodged in his neck when he was shot at point-blank range approximately 11 years earlier. Gerard also suffered from cerebral palsy which increased his physical disability. He weighed about 99 pounds, was unable to care for himself, and lived in constant pain. Because of his disabilities, Gerard's mobility was severely limited. His hands were extremely weak. He could not reach out and grasp objects and had very little control over the movement of his fingers. Gerard could not hold an ink pen without assistance. He used his tongue to push the buttons on the television remote and the telephone because he could not push the buttons with his fingers.
In spite of all the hardships in his life, Gerard had a positive attitude. He struggled with bouts of depression from time to time, but, generally, he was in good spirits. Gerard never told his wife or his family that he wanted to die and never made any overtures about wanting to end his life.
Gerard was very close to his sister, Shelley Fields, who talked with him on a daily basis. Shelley was very protective and also a caregiver and companion of Gerard. At times, in order to ease his pain, she would help Gerard smoke marijuana.
Shelley began dating the defendant, Lynwood Baker, near the end of May or the beginning of June 2003. A short time later, Shelley introduced Baker to Gerard. Shelley told Baker that she and Gerard were very close and that Gerard was very special to her. Baker helped Shelley purchase marijuana for Gerard.
By early July 2003, Baker and Shelley's relationship deteriorated. Shelley had stated she had grown tired of Baker's lying and womanizing, so she stopped seeing Baker and refused to tell him where she could be reached. On July 11, 2003, Gerard called Shelley and told her that Baker had contacted him wanting to know Shelley's whereabouts. Shelley told Gerard that she had broken up with Baker and asked Gerard not to reveal where he could find her. Gerard agreed he would not tell Baker where Shelley could be found. Shelley then asked Gerard to make a three-way call to Baker, so she and Gerard could talk to him. During the call, Baker continued to ask about Shelley's whereabouts and became irate when she would not reveal her location. Shelley and Gerard hung up on Baker. Shelley asked Gerard not to talk to Baker anymore.
Later the same day, Baker and his girlfriend, Paishus Williams, drove over to Gerard's house in Baker's car. While Paishus remained in the car listening to loud music and attracting the neighbors' attention, Baker went inside Gerard's house. Inside the house, Baker went to Gerard's bedroom, argued with Gerard, and then shot Gerard point blank in the forehead, killing Gerard instantly.
Baker returned to the car and drove to a nearby gas station with Paishus. After getting gas, Paishus overheard Baker tell someone on the phone that "people are going to learn not to mess with me." Baker told Paishus the man was dead and he had to return to Gerard's house to find his shell casing. Paishus did not believe that the man was dead, so, when she and Baker returned to Gerard's house, Paishus went inside with Baker to see Gerard's body.
Paishus asked Baker why he had killed the man, and Baker responded, "He's been playing me." Paishus returned to the car. Baker followed a few minutes later, and the two went to Paishus' house.
Shelley heard that Gerard had been shot and went to Gerard's house. When she got there, a neighbor described Baker's car to Shelley, and she called the police to identify Baker. Shelley told the police that she was the reason Baker had killed Gerard.
Police officers found Baker at Paishus' house. While searching Paishus' house, police found the gun that killed Gerard. Police then escorted Baker and Paishus to the police station to interview them. Paishus initially denied going to Gerard's house, but eventually told police about going there with Baker and returning to see Gerard with a gunshot wound in his head. Paishus was released, and Baker was charged with first-degree premeditated murder for shooting Gerard.
At trial, Baker testified in his own defense, admitted being present when Gerard was shot, but denied killing Gerard. According to Baker, he was an unwitting accomplice to Gerard's suicide. Baker testified that he went to Gerard's house to retrieve a gun that Baker had left under Gerard's couch. After retrieving the gun, Baker went to Gerard's room to say hello. Gerard was very depressed and talked about wanting to die. Gerard asked Baker to show him the gun, and Baker complied. Baker testified that he thought he would bluff Gerard into changing his mind about committing suicide. Baker put Gerard's finger on the trigger and told Gerard to shoot himself. According to Baker, Gerard then leaned his head into the gun, said thanks, and pulled the trigger, killing himself before Baker knew what happened.
To contradict Baker's theory that Gerard committed suicide, the State called a firearms expert to testify that pulling the trigger required 12½ pounds of pressure. Shelley and other witnesses for the State testified that Gerard was incapable of shooting himself because he was incapable of doing simple things like lighting a lighter, holding an ink pen, or pushing the buttons on the telephone or the television remote. Gerard's family members also testified that Gerard was not depressed and had not professed any suicidal ideation.
To rebut the State's evidence that Gerard was not suicidal, Baker attempted to admit testimony from a security guard who had worked at an assisted living center where Gerard resided in 2000. Baker proffered that the security guard would testify that Gerard was on a suicide watch in 2000. The State objected to the relevancy of the security guard's testimony, and the court sustained the objection, excluding the witness' testimony.
A jury convicted Baker of first-degree premeditated murder. Finding that Baker's actions were especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel because of Baker's indifference to Gerard's defenselessness, the district court sentenced Baker to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 50 years. Baker appeals his conviction and sentence to this court pursuant to K.S.A. 22-3601(b)(1).
Baker claims that the trial court should not have allowed Detective Otis, who interrogated Paishus Williams, to comment on Paishus' veracity during the interrogation. Detective Otis testified that during the interrogation, he confronted Paishus because he knew she was lying when she said she was not at Gerard's house. However, Baker did not object to Detective Otis' testimony about Paishus' truthfulness. Failure to object to the admission of evidence at trial precludes raising the issue on appeal. K.S.A. 60-404; State v. Kunellis, 276 Kan. 461, 477, 78 P.3d 776 (2003); State v. Arrington, 251 Kan. 747, 750-51, 840 P.2d 477 (1992).
We have recognized three exceptions to the general rule precluding parties from raising new issues before an appellate court: (1) the newly asserted theory involves only a question of law on proved or admitted facts and will be finally determinative of the case; (2) consideration of the newly asserted theory is necessary to serve the ends of justice or prevent the denial of fundamental rights; or (3) the trial court's judgment may be upheld despite its reliance on the wrong reason or basis for its decision. State v. Schroeder, 279 Kan. 104, 116, 105 P.3d 1237 (2005).
Baker asserts that this court must consider Detective Otis' testimony regarding Paishus' credibility because addressing the issue would serve the ends of justice and prevent the denial of his fundamental right to have a jury determine his guilt. Baker argues that Paishus' credibility was crucial to the determination of his guilt or innocence.
However, Baker's argument overstates the impact of Paishus' testimony. Baker admitted arguing with Gerard and holding the gun when Gerard was shot. The key factual issue was the credibility of Baker's suicide story or the State's theory that Gerard was physically and emotionally incapable of committing suicide. Paishus' testimony did not assist the jury in making this factual determination.
The most damaging part of Paishus' statement to Detective Otis occurred when she said that Baker returned to Gerard's house to find the shell from his gun. At trial, Paishus interpreted Baker's statement to mean that he wanted to find his "Shell," Shelley Fields. Baker reinforced Paishus' testimony by testifying that he was referring to Shelley Fields when he ...
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