Kentucky Condemned inmate wins new trial

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- A Kentucky inmate on death row for 29 years has been granted a new trial by a federal appeals court that found problems with the trial judge's legal interpretations and an argument made by prosecutors about a claim of extreme emotional distress at the time of two slayings. A split U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday ordered 62-year-old David Eugene Matthews retried within 180 days in the death of his estranged wife Mary "Marlene" Matthews, and mother-in-law, Magdalene Cruse in Louisville, on June 29, 1981. Judge Eric Clay wrote that the trial judge misinterpreted Kentucky's law on an extreme emotional distress defense and allowed prosecutors to claim during closing arguments that Matthews and his attorneys concocted the issue in an attempt to avoid conviction. "The prosecutor's comments during closing arguments regarding (Matthews') supposed exaggeration of EED, and collusion with his attorney and doctor, were both improper and flagrant," Clay wrote. Clay, joined by judge Karen Nelson Moore, also ordered the state to determine if Matthews can legally be retried or must be released because the constitutional prohibition on being tried twice for the same crime applies in this case. Judge Eugene Siler Jr. dissented, saying the judge properly interpreted the law, and noted that prosecutors withdrew the offending statement at closing arguments. "First, the evidence against the defendant was strong, as counsel admitted that Matthews had killed the two victims," Siler wrote. "The evidence of whether Matthews was under the influence of EED at the time of the offense was not as compelling, but there was evidence that Matthews did not suffer from this impairment at the time of the killings." The ruling overturns a decision by U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn III upholding Matthews' conviction and sentence. Kentucky's law at the time Matthews went to trial required prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Matthews did not suffer from extreme emotional distress if the defendant produced sufficient evidence of the disorder. Clay found that Matthews made his case on extreme emotional distress, but prosecutors "neither undermined nor contravened" the claim, leaving reasonable doubt in place. "The prosecution presented no evidence of its own regarding the EED element," Clay wrote. Kentucky has executed three men since 1976. The last person executed was Marco Allen Chapman by lethal injection in November. The state currently has 34 people on death row. Published: Wed, Jun 29, 2011