State of Missouri, Respondent v. Kimber Edwards, Appellant

Summary

The Court affirmed Edwards's convictions and death sentence, rejecting challenges to jury selection, voir dire, admission of his statements and other evidence, trial continuances, prosecutorial argument, the penalty-phase instructions, the aggravating circumstance, and proportionality review. It held that the prosecutor's peremptory strikes were not shown to be pretextual, Edwards's statements were voluntary and obtained after valid waivers, and the evidence sufficiently supported the contract-killing aggravator. Although the trial court erred by refusing a requested penalty-phase no-adverse-inference instruction, the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt because Edwards had testified in the guilt phase and presented extensive penalty-phase mitigation through other witnesses. Judge Teitelman, concurring, emphasized heightened scrutiny of occupation-based strikes and the possible prejudice from cumulative errors.