Olathe ? A juror in the multiple murder trial of John E. Robinson Sr. did not commit misconduct by bringing a Bible to deliberations, prosecutors said in court documents.

The prosecutors’ statements filed Wednesday were in response to defense requests that Robinson be granted a new trial or his convictions be thrown out.

Johnson County District Judge John Anderson III is scheduled to take up the issues at a hearing on Tuesday. If he denies the defense requests, he will sentence Robinson. Jurors who convicted him recommended the death penalty.

Robinson was convicted of capital murder in the deaths of two women whose bodies were found in barrels on his rural property in Linn County, as well as first-degree murder in the death of another woman who disappeared in 1985 and has never been found.

He faces trial in Cass County, Mo., in the deaths of two other women and a girl whose bodies were found in barrels inside a storage locker he rented.

The arguments by the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office dealt only with issues raised by the defense in its filing last month, not others the judge ruled on before and during the trial.

The Bible brought to the deliberations was one from the hotel where the jurors were staying. Jurors told the judge and attorneys that they had taken their final vote before there was any conversation about Bible passages.

The prosecutors wrote that Kansas law prohibits “delving into the thought processes” of a jury to challenge its verdict.

The defense also contended that Robinson deserved a new trial because it said the prosecutor’s closing argument went beyond what was permissible under the law.

But the prosecutors maintained that discussing the effect of the crimes on the victims was fair argument, and also defended their reference to the enormity of Robinson’s crimes.

Other defense issues the state responded to included complaints about how the jury was picked and whether Robinson was subjected to double jeopardy because of the way the multiple murder charges were filed.

Prosecutors also argued against defense claims that the charges against Robinson, which spanned activities over 15 years, violated the ex post facto clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Although Robinson’s “continuing course of conduct” began before Kansas enacted its death penalty statute in 1994, it did not end until 2000, the state said.

“Had he stopped murdering women at the time of the enactment, he would not be subject to the punishment he ultimately faces today,” prosecutors argued.