State of Missouri, Respondent v. Kenneth Baumruk, Appellant

Summary

The court affirmed Baumruk's first-degree murder conviction and death sentence, rejecting challenges to his competency, denial of self-representation, jury selection, voir dire restrictions, juror qualification, expert reliance on an unwarned statement, indictment sufficiency, and penalty-phase argument. The court held that substantial evidence supported competency, the trial court could deny self-representation to a defendant competent to stand trial but unable to conduct proceedings voluntarily and intelligently, and the unpreserved claims did not constitute plain error. Independent proportionality review also showed that the death sentence was supported by the aggravating circumstances and was neither excessive nor disproportionate.