"Evil in Capital Letters": Anthony Kirkland Returns to Court for Resentencing (WKRC Local 12, 2016)

Name: "Evil in Capital Letters": Anthony Kirkland Returns to Court for Resentencing (WKRC Local 12, 2016)
Uploaded: 2016-12-20T00:00:00Z
Duration: 1 min 43 s
Description: WKRC Local 12 reports on Anthony Kirkland's return to court after the Ohio Supreme Court ordered a new sentencing hearing, as the judge who first sentenced him to death steps aside. Kirkland does not speak.

WKRC Local 12 reports on Anthony Kirkland's return to court after the Ohio Supreme Court ordered a new sentencing hearing, as the judge who first sentenced him to death steps aside. Kirkland does not speak.

Subject: Anthony Kirkland
Recorded: December 14, 2016
Runtime: 1:43

Content warning: Refers to the murders of two girls aged 13 and 14 and of three women; no graphic detail.

The Interview

This is not an interview with Anthony Kirkland, who is seen in court but not heard. It is a 103-second news report by WKRC Local 12 in Cincinnati on a hearing in Hamilton County in December 2016, a court appearance in the process of resentencing him. The station's narrator explains the case over courtroom footage, and Hamilton County Assistant Prosecutor Mark Piepmeier speaks briefly.

Historical Context

Anthony Kirkland killed his girlfriend, Leola Douglas, in 1987 and served a 16-year sentence for it. Between 2006 and 2009 he killed four more women and girls. Before his 2010 trial he pleaded guilty to the murders of Mary Jo Newton and Kimya Rolison. In March 2010 a jury convicted him of the aggravated murders of Casonya Crawford, 14, killed in 2006, and Esme Kenney, 13, a student at the School for Creative and Performing Arts, killed in March 2009, and he was sentenced to death. The Supreme Court of Ohio upheld the death sentence in 2014.

Circumstances

In May 2016 the Supreme Court of Ohio ordered a new sentencing hearing for Kirkland; his guilty verdicts were not disturbed. At this hearing, according to WKRC, Judge Charles Kubicki, who had imposed the 2010 death sentence, disqualified himself at the prosecution's request. WKRC's web story adds that one of Kirkland's defense lawyers was allowed to withdraw and that attorney Norm Aubin remained on the case.

What the Recording Covers

The narrator summarizes Kirkland's crimes and the Ohio Supreme Court's order, which the report says stemmed from "a federal court ruling on a similar case in the state of Florida." The prosecutor's view, as reported, is that the state will "basically have to put on a whole new trial" so that a new jury knows the crimes well enough to weigh any mitigating factors the defense presents. Piepmeier says: "This guy is evil in capital letters. He's just a horrible human being, and there's just nothing good about him." The narrator reports Piepmeier's concern that a second death sentence from the same judge could open the case to further appeals, and explains that a new judge and a new jury would decide between a death sentence and life in prison.

What Makes the Recording Significant

It records an early step in Kirkland's resentencing, including the trial judge's recusal, and links the 2010 trial to the 2018 resentencing, at which a new jury again recommended death.

Archival Importance

A short report from a Cincinnati station on its own channel.

Important Caveats

Kirkland does not speak in this video. The narrator is not named. The report attributes the Ohio order to a "federal court ruling" in a Florida case, while WKRC's web story says "a Florida court ruling." The court's own entry (May 4, 2016) gives no reason, and WCPO's report of the same hearing tied the order instead to the prosecutor's remarks in the 2010 penalty phase, so the basis of the order is not settled here. The prosecutor's description of Kirkland is his opinion. The opening word of the report is unclear in the machine text and is bracketed in the transcript (probably "Convicted", the word on the on-screen banner). The hearing date is taken from WKRC's web story; the video was uploaded six days later.

Narrator: [unclear, probably "Convicted": "Victim" / "Victims" / "Evicted"] serial killer Anthony Kirkland appeared in a Hamilton County courtroom today. He is trying to get his death sentence overturned, and that try is now in the process. Kirkland appeared before the judge who sentenced him to death for the 2006 murder of 14-year-old Casonya Crawford and the 2009 killing of 13-year-old SCPA student Esme Kenney. Before his trial began, Kirkland pleaded guilty to killing two other women. He'd also previously served a 16-year sentence for killing his girlfriend.

Narrator: In May of this year, Ohio Supreme Court justices ruled Kirkland should get a new sentencing hearing. Their decision stems from a federal court ruling on a similar case in the state of Florida. Even though justices did not grant Kirkland a new trial, the prosecutor says they'll basically have to put on a whole new trial so that a new jury is familiar with the crimes that Kirkland committed. Assistant Prosecutor Mark Piepmeier says that's the only way those jurors will be able to decide if mitigating factors presented by Kirkland's attorneys warrant sparing him a death sentence.

Mark Piepmeier: This guy is evil in capital letters. He's just a horrible human being, and there's just nothing good about him.

Narrator: Piepmeier says it's terrible the victims' families will have to go through this again. During today's hearing, Judge Charles Kubicki disqualified himself at the prosecution's request. Piepmeier expressed concern that since the judge had already sentenced Kirkland to death once, a second death sentence could open the case up for other appeals. Once a new judge is assigned, a new jury will be picked, and those jurors will hear arguments and decide whether to recommend the new judge give Kirkland the death penalty [unclear: "for" / "for or"] life in prison. [Sign-off, about 01:41: unclear: captions "come to County"; not in Whisper.] [01:43: clip ends.] ---