Olsen v. State

Facts

(Very little of these facts are in the casebook). Olsen (D) had been drinking since at least 4:15 p.m. on the day of the murder. His mother wanted him to come home, and he did but went right back out to drink some more. He was seen leaving a bar called RJ’s around 11:30 p.m. On the night of January 20, 1997, sometime between 11:00 p.m. and midnight, D entered the Little Chief Bar in Worland. He instructed two patrons to lie down on the floor and robbed the bar. After having the bartender also lay face down on the floor, he shot all three in the back of the head, firing a fourth shot seconds later when it appeared that one victim was not dead. He left the bar, went to a convenience store and pumped gas into his pickup. The clerk noticed he was so drunk he couldn’t say the word 56 degrees. He chatted with the store clerk until asked if he knew why the police were active in the area. At this question, he became agitated, left, and went home and packed. D confessed to his mother that he had killed three people, claiming that years earlier, while in the Marine Corps, he had accumulated a $70,000 gambling debt and still owed $17,000. He claimed that over the years, he had been constantly harassed for the money and, several years before, his fiancé had been killed because of the debt. He further claimed that he believed he had seen the man sent to collect the gambling debt in town and followed him into the Little Chief Bar, shot him, and shot what he described as two innocent people. Olsen told his mother that this man was involved in the death of his fiancé and that D believed that the man would try to kill D’s ex-wife and daughter. D finished packing, loaded his truck with his belongings and the murder weapon, returned to his mother and talked about his options of either running or turning himself in. D told her his third option was to kill her and his father. When she responded that he would not do that, he said there was a fourth option to which Mrs. Olsen did not respond. D told his mother he was going to Colorado and left. He called her a few minutes later on his cell phone, reporting that the police had apparently found the bodies of his victims. Mrs. Olsen, a police dispatcher, then contacted police and turned in her son. When stopped by the police D was driving slowly and drifting onto the shoulder of the highway, both of which are indicators of drunk driving. D was apprehended. He was advised of his rights and spent much of the rest of the day confessing the murders to police. Several of these confessions were recorded on audiotape and videotape. At trial, Mrs. Olsen disclosed that on the night of the murders she believed D was intoxicated, agitated, and was slurring his speech. She also disclosed during her direct examination, that in March of 1993, D suffered an aneurysm that she believed changed his disposition. On the night of the murders, D had taken a relatively new drug to control seizures. Apparently, D’s heavy drinking after his aneurysm ruptured had caused him to suffer seizures. None of the three victims resisted him in any way, but D told police in an unrecorded statement that the bartender’s words about getting caught scared him as he realized that the people could identify him, and he shot them. D told interrogators that he needed money because he was two months behind on his child support and because the rings were going out in his pickup. D's blood alcohol read .063 alcohol concentration, and another at 7:34 which read .061 alcohol concentration. D was found guilty of multiple counts of murder all premeditated and in the first degree, three counts of felony murder and one count of aggravated burglary. D was sentenced to death. This appeal resulted. 

Issues

Rule of Law

Holding and Decision

Legal Analysis

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