State v. Gideon

894 P.2d 850, 257 Kan. 591, 1995 Kan. LEXIS 63
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedApril 28, 1995
Docket71,412
StatusPublished
Cited by81 cases

This text of 894 P.2d 850 (State v. Gideon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Gideon, 894 P.2d 850, 257 Kan. 591, 1995 Kan. LEXIS 63 (kan 1995).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Abbott, J.:

This is a direct appeal by the defendant, Donald Ray Gideon, from sentences he received after he pleaded guilty to premeditated first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated criminal sodomy, and rape.

The defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment with no parole eligibility for 40 years (the hard 40) for first-degree murder, 408 months for aggravated kidnapping (an upward durational departure from the sentencing guidelines of 204 months), 154 months for aggravated criminal sodomy (an upward durational departure from the sentencing guidelines of 77 months), and 154 months for rape (an upward durational departure from the sentencing guidelines of 77 months). All sentences were ordered to be served consecutively. If the sentences imposed are affirmed *595 and the defendant earns the maximum good time available to him (currently 20%), he will first be eligible for parole sometime after his 119th birthday. Had the trial judge not imposed an upward durational departure on the three guidelines sentences, defendant would first be eligible for parole sometime after his 96di birthday.

Defendant raises 13 issues on appeal — some with sub-issues. The issues involve the hard 40 sentence, the upward durational departure from the sentencing guidelines, and whether the defendant’s plea was voluntary.

The facts concerning the crimes are not in dispute. The facts are the defendant’s version of what occurred as related to law enforcement officers and given by the defendant in a written and taped confession.

The victim, Stephanie Schmidt, worked at a restaurant in Pitts-burg, Kansas, where the defendant was also employed. Around midnight on July 1, 1993, Schmidt asked the defendant to give her a ride home from Bootleggers, a bar in Frontenac, Kansas, after they attended a mutual friend’s birthday party. The defendant and Schmidt got into his truck. Schmidt commented that the defendant was a “nice guy” and that she did not know how he could hurt anybody, though she knew he had been in prison before. The defendant told Schmidt he might be capable of hurting someone. The defendant varied from the route to Schmidt’s apartment, and when she asked about it he offered to let her out of the truck. She did not get out, but at one point she reached for the door and he grabbed her. The defendant drove down several dirt roads to a deserted area in Cherokee County. He was in a rage. He raped Schmidt and then anally sodomized her. After he ejaculated the rage went away, and he had to work himself into another rage for the stated purpose of killing her.

The defendant took Schmidt by the hand from the truck and walked her into a wooded area. Schmidt was naked. The defendant handed Schmidt a screwdriver and told her that one of them had to die and that after what he had done she should kill him. Schmidt dropped her hand and began to turn away. The defendant choked £er from behind and then from the front until he thought she was dead. He then tied Schmidt’s bra tightly around *596 her neck to assure she was dead. He dragged her body several feet to a grassy area and left her clothes several feet from the body. The defendant hoped Schmidt’s body would not be found for several months so DNA evidence would not be found. The defendant, as a prior sex offender, knew the Department of Corrections (DOC) had taken a blood sample for the express purpose of having a DNA profile of him on hand.

The defendant then left Kansas, abandoning the truck in Coos Bay, Oregon, and turned himself in to law enforcement authorities in Florida after a national television feature on this case was broadcast. The defendant was returned to Kansas, and after giving the confessions which will be discussed in greater detail herein, he aided authorities in recovering Schmidt’s body.

I. RIGHT TO A JURY DETERMINATION OF THE HARD 40

The defendant points out that at the time his guilty plea was taken, the trial court did not obtain a specific waiver of a jury determination of the hard 40 sentence. The defendant does admit that in the petition to enter a plea of guilty he acknowledged that by pleading guilty he waived the right to a jury determination of the hard 40 sentence. However, he asserts that a written waiver of rights is not a substitute for judicial inquiry in open court concerning a waiver of rights, citing State v. Browning, 245 Kan. 26, Syl. ¶ 5, 774 P.2d 935 (1989), and State v. Anziana, 17 Kan. App. 2d 570, 840 P.2d 550 (1992). The trial court in this case stated on the record that its understanding was that the guilty plea constituted a waiver of the hard 40 juiy, and defendant’s trial counsel agreed.

The defendant argues that although K.S.A. 1993 Supp. 21-4624(2) provides that the hard 40 proceedings shall be conducted by the court where the defendant has waived a juiy trial, the provision does not expressly provide that the hard 40 juiy is automatically waived upon a guilty plea. The defendant asserts that 21-4624(2) requires an express waiver of the hard 40 jury. He argues that the legislature has clearly expressed its intent that a jury determine imposition of the hard 40 sentence unless waived *597 in a manner provided by K.S.A. 22-3403 (waiver of jury trial in felony cases). According to the defendant, criminal statutes must be construed in favor of the defendant; therefore, the hard 40 sentencing must be conducted by a jury unless expressly waived.

K.S.A. 1993 Supp. 21-4624(2) states in pertinent part:

‘‘[U]pon conviction or adjudication of guilt of a defendant of murder in the first degree based upon tire finding of premeditated murder, the court upon motion of the county or trial attorney, shall conduct a separate sentencing proceeding to determine whether the defendant shall be required to serve a mandatory term of imprisonment of 40 years. The proceeding shall be conducted bij the trial judge before the trial jury as soon as practicable. . . . The jury at the sentencing proceeding may be waived in the manner provided by KS.A. 22-3403 and amendments thereto for waiver of a trial jury. If the jury at the sentencing proceeding has been waived or the trial jury has been waived, the sentencing proceeding shall be conducted by the court.” (Emphasis added.)

The defendant’s argument asks this court to interpret the last sentence of K.S.A. 1993 Supp. 21-4624(2). Interpretation of a statute is a question of law. State v. Donlay, 253 Kan. 132, Syl. ¶ 1, 853 P.2d 680 (1993). “When a statute is plain and unambiguous, the court must give effect to the intention of the legislature as expressed, rather than determine what the law should or should not be.” Martindale v. Tenny, 250 Kan. 621, Syl.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
894 P.2d 850, 257 Kan. 591, 1995 Kan. LEXIS 63, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-gideon-kan-1995.