United States Eighth Circuit

In a case involving circumstances in which defendant and his girlfriend kidnapped and murdered a potential witness, a witness, the witness's girlfriend, and the girlfriend's two young daughters, defendant's conviction and death sentence is affirmed over claims of error regarding: 1) double jeopardy; 2) admission of maps drawn by defendant's girlfriend which led investigators to the victims' bodies; 3) a decision to shackle defendant, bolt the shackles to the floor, and force him to wear a stun belt during trial; 4) the substitution of one juror with an alternate; 5) alleged jury taint; 6) a Continuing Criminal Enterprise instruction; 7) defendant's intent as an eligibility factor and an aggravating factor; 8) denial of a motion to allocute before the jury; 9) whether the prosecutor's penalty phase closing argument misled jurors and violated defendant's Eighth Amendment rights; 10) the constitutionality of the death penalty; and 11) submission of statutory aggravating factors to the grand jury.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/12/2008
• Published 09/12/2008

Judges

• RILEY, Circuit Judge., Before RILEY, GRUENDER, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Eighth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Jean deSales Barrett, argued, Montclair, NJ, Gary E. Brotherton, on the brief, Columbia, MO, Monica Foster, on the brief, Indianapolis, IN, for appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Charles J. Williams, AUSA, argued, Cedar Rapids, IA, for appellee.