Kansas Supreme Court upholds Matthew Hutto s double murder conviction cjonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cjonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Shawnee County District Judge Steven Ebberts on Thursday tentatively scheduled a hearing to be held at 3 p.m. June 9 regarding whether Jon K. Ewing is mentally competent to be tried on charges that include first-degree murder.
Ebberts said he could decide that day whether to order a psychiatric evaluation for Ewing, 61, of Scranton.
Ewing faces charges that include first-degree murder linked to the killing of his former girlfriend, 58-year-old Deborah Ann Stephens, who died April 27 at her mobile home just south of Topeka.
Court records say video from a security camera Stephens had set up at her home showed her being struck about the head by an ax wielded by Ewing.
The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday unanimously denied a request for a new trial sought by Christopher Harris after he was convicted of crimes linked to the 2016 shooting of Topeka Police Detective Brian C. Hill, who is now Shawnee County sheriff.
Justice Dan Biles wrote an opinion in which the high court rejected Harris legal counsel s contention that Shawnee County District Judge Cheryl Rios erred by allowing an atmosphere of intimidation, which included the presence of 15 to 20 police officers in the courtroom during closing arguments and jury instructions at his trial.
The opinion said justices concluded Harris attorney failed to offer any evidence to show the officers presence had any prejudicial impact on the jury s decision.
State supreme court throws out murder conviction against Wichita man kfdi.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kfdi.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Supreme Court reverses murder conviction in Wichita death Follow Us
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By - Associated Press - Friday, April 23, 2021
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday reversed the first-degree murder conviction of a Wichita man who shot another man during a botched drug deal.
Mark Holley III was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2019 for the shooting death of 18-year-old D’Shaun Smith in 2017. Holley argued he shot Smith in self-defense after Smith aimed at a gun at him and tried to rob him after a marijuana deal fell through.
The court ruled the Sedgwick County District judge committed reversible error when he did not include a self-defense instruction during jury instructions. The court said a self-defense instruction was “legally and factually appropriate in the case.”