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Thread: Roger Dale Epperson - Kentucky Death Row

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    Roger Dale Epperson - Kentucky Death Row


    Roger Dale Epperson


    Summary of Offense:

    Was sentenced to death on June 20, 1986 in Letcher County for the murder of Tammy Acker. The murder occurred when Epperson and two accomplices entered the home of a Fleming-Neon, Kentucky physician on the night of August 8, 1985. They choked the man unconscious, and stabbed his daughter, Tammy Acker, to death while robbing him of $1.9 million, handguns and jewelry. He was arrested in Florida on August 15, 1985. He also received a second death sentence for the murder of Bessie and Edwin Morris in their home in Gray Hawk, Kentucky on June 16, 1985.

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    Judge: No effect on sentence from DNA testing

    LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A judge cited overwhelming evidence of guilt in ruling that DNA testing would not have changed the outcome of a death row inmate's trial in the 1985 robbery and murder of a couple in eastern Kentucky.

    The decision, issued earlier this month by Special Judge Thomas O. Castlen, rejected a claim by 61-year-old Roger Dale Epperson that a hair found at the scene that didn't match him or a co-defendant warranted a new trial.

    Epperson and 59-year-old Benny Lee Hodge were condemned to death for the June 17, 1985, slayings of Ed and Bessie Morris at their home in the Gray Hawk community on the eastern edge of the Daniel Boone National Forest.

    Epperson, convicted of complicity to commit murder, also claimed that a new trial was warranted because the results of DNA tests done in 1998 weren't revealed to defense attorneys until 2008.

    Castlen said the DNA test results weren't new evidence as anyone reviewing the court file could have seen as early as 1998 that tests were done and results should have been available. Even with the results, the overwhelming evidence and testimony in the case point to Epperson's guilt, even if he didn't kill the couple himself, Castlen wrote.

    "That a hair taken from the body of a victim did not match Epperson's hair is entirely consistent with this verdict," Castlen wrote. "Just the same as the fact that a number of unmatched fingerprints recovered from the scene did not dissuade the jury from finding Mr. Epperson guilty."

    Ed and Bessie Morris were found tied up and shot to death. The killers walked away with $35,000, jewelry and guns.

    Officials did DNA testing on a hair found in the Morris home at the request of defense attorneys in 1998, after the science became available, but the results excluding Epperson, Hodge and a third defendant, Donald Wayne Bartley, didn't surface until a decade later.

    The results were sent to the Kentucky State Police on Jan. 8, 1999. Defense attorneys for Epperson and Hodge, whose appeals have been exhausted, didn't get them until September 2008, despite requests from Epperson's previous attorneys.

    Prosecutors have argued that they were unaware of the test results, so they couldn't have turned them over in 1999.

    While investigating the Morris murders, police compiled a list of at least eight suspects and pulled 15 fingerprints and three palm prints suitable for comparisons from the home, but none matched Epperson, Hodge or Bartley.

    About two months later, Dr. Roscoe Acker and his daughter, Tammy Acker, were attacked in their home in the Fleming-Neon community in nearby Letcher County. Dr. Acker survived a strangulation attempt, but Tammy Acker was fatally stabbed more than a dozen times with a large kitchen knife.

    The killers took nearly $2 million in cash, some weapons and jewelry from the home.

    The FBI, after becoming involved in the investigation of Tammy Acker's death, focused on Epperson, Hodge and Bartley, three men suspected of robbing drug peddlers in eastern Kentucky. Agents tracked them to Florida, where they were arrested and charged in the attack on the Ackers. They were later convicted.

    The federal agents also sent their suspicions to Jackson County Detective Ronnie Gay, who then focused on the trio in the deaths of the Morrises.

    Bartley eventually pleaded guilty in exchange for a life sentence and described in detail how he, Hodge and Epperson used a campsite rented under a false name, a borrowed van and gloves to conceal their identities. Bartley said Epperson and Hodge went into the home, while he stayed outside as a lookout.

    http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/art...#ixzz1PpqScmio

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    Judge threatens to 'strangle' attorney in 'ridiculous' case

    A senior judge with a controversial history threatened last week to “strangle” a lawyer, then disparaged his case, calling it “ridiculous,” “disgusting” and “a huge waste of time.”

    Martin McDonald, a former Jefferson district and circuit judge, said in an interview later that he was being “facetious” when he threatened Friday to attack assistant public advocate David Barron if he ever called him again on his cell phone without opposing counsel’s participation.

    But leading national experts on legal ethics said McDonald’s comments about the case, in which Barron is seeking a new trial for death row inmate Roger Dale Epperson, indicate that the judge had improperly prejudged the case.

    “The judge’s conduct in general is highly injudicious,” said Hofstra University law professor Monroe Freedman. “He should be removed from this case and also from the bench.”

    McDonald was removed from an unrelated civil case on Sept. 19 by Kentucky Chief Justice John D. Minton after McDonald was accused by the defense of bias and failing to disclose a conflict of interest — that he’d practiced with the plaintiff’s lawyer 20 years earlier.

    Such disqualifications are extremely rare. Since being elected chief justice in 2008, Minton has denied 91 percent of 103 such motions filed, according to court records. McDonald is the first senior-status judge Minton has removed.

    McDonald, 54, a former deputy sheriff who retired in 2009 from Jefferson Circuit Court, has received relatively low marks from from practicing lawyers in bar evaluations, including as recently as last year, when he was the only senior judge in Jefferson County to get low marks.

    Senior judges serve for 600 days after they retire in exchange for enhanced pensions; McDonald has completed about two-thirds of his service, according to the Administrative Office of the Courts.

    In 2004, The Courier-Journal’s editorial board criticized him for sanctioning a juror for failing to appear, even though the juror submitted two letters from two doctors saying he was sick, and for describing a murder victim as an “animal.” McDonald defended both comments at the time as justified and appropriate.

    In 2009 McDonald said in an interview that a jury in his court “kind of missed it” when they “bought” a defendant’s claim that he was acting in self-defense and convicted him of manslaughter rather than murder. McDonald was later reversed for giving the jury an erroneous instruction.

    The capital murder case

    Epperson has been on death row for 26 years for two separate capital convictions.

    Citing ineffective assistance from trial counsel in the second of those cases, Barron is trying to win Epperson a new trial in the murder of Tammy Acker, a Letcher County woman who was fatally stabbed during the 1985 robbery of $1.9 million from her father, a doctor, who survived.

    Another senior judge had ordered a hearing on the evidence in Epperson’s motion, which was scheduled for Sept. 28.

    On Sept. 17 Barron called McDonald on his cell to ask for a continuance, saying his co-counsel couldn’t be there on the 28th, nor an ensuing date that also had been scheduled. McDonald denied the request, and Barron asked the state Supreme Court for a writ delaying the hearing.

    In an interview, Barron said he had permission from opposing counsel at the attorney general’s office to call McDonald about scheduling matters. Barron said he called him on his cell phone because that number had been supplied by the court system.

    Allison Martin, a spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office, said it doesn’t comment on pending cases, but the office didn’t deny that Barron had its approval to call the judge about scheduling matters.

    At last Friday’s hearing, when Barron mentioned the phone conversation, McDonald erupted, according to video of the proceeding. “If you ever call me on my cell phone again,” he said, “I’ll strangle you.”

    McDonald also said he would try to get Barron’s law license “yanked” if he did it again.

    “You were unethical, it was improper, and then you go to the Supreme Court and complain because I told you we were going to plow ahead on this thing,” McDonald said.

    When Barron asked for permission to clarify what happened — to explain he had consent of opposing counsel to make the call — McDonald cut him off. “Negative,” the judge said. “Be quiet.”

    McDonald said he thought it was “a huge mistake” for the prior judge to order the hearing, yet deciding to proceed, he directed his bailiff to bring Epperson to court from his holding cell. “Bring his carcass out here,” McDonald said.

    Then, instead of letting Barron call his first witness, McDonald recognized one of Epperson’s trial lawyers, Frank Jewell, in the gallery, and allowed him to take the witness stand first, saying he was a “private lawyer and had business to take care of.”

    McDonald then questioned the witness first himself, before passing him to counsel for examination.

    After hearing only Jewell, McDonald announced: “This has been a huge waste of time” and said Barron’s allegations “have bordered on the ridiculous.”

    Citing fears that a summary ruling would be reversed, Assistant Attorney General Julie Scott Jernigan pleaded with McDonald to allow Barron to present more witnesses, and he was allowed to offer four more.

    After another one appeared, McDonald again threatened to abort the hearing because, he said, the Department of Public Advocacy was “making a mountain out of a molehill.”

    McDonald also said the nature of ineffective counsel motions in general “is distasteful to the court. The lawyers who do the work at trial now get criticized by backseat drivers who weren’t there and who didn’t try the case.”

    In an email response to a reporter’s questions, New York University law professor Stephen Gillers said that McDonald’s comments showed “a serious lack of detachment and judicial demeanor that we expect of judges, whether in a capital matter or a breach of contract case.”

    Northwestern University law professor Steven Lubet said a judge “should not prejudge the outcome of a hearing or deprive a party of the full right to be heard.”

    In an interview, Barron, who last year won a new trial for another death row inmate based on disclosures that a juror failed to consider lesser penalties, said McDonald’s conduct was “about as unprofessional as any I have ever seen in nine years of representing death penalty defendants in state and federal courts.”

    The wrongful death case

    Assigned to take half of Judge Irv Maze’s caseload after Maze was appointed to the Court of Appeals, McDonald in June inherited a case in which the widow of a tank repairman, Gary Crow, sued Louisville Gas & Electric Co. for alleged negligence in his electrocution.

    Crow, who worked for a Texas company, was killed on Oct. 14, 2008, when he touched a high-voltage electric line while working at Citgo petroleum terminal on Campground Road. His estate claimed LG&E was negligent in failing to prevent his death, perhaps by turning off power to the line, which crosses Citgo’s property.

    LG&E claims Crow and his employer were negligent and that the utility had been exonerated in an investigation by the Public Service Commission. It also said it could not have turned off power to the line without dangerously overloading other wires.

    In motions to remove McDonald, LG&E’s lawyers said the judge failed to disclose that he’d practiced 20 years ago with the widow’s lawyer, Richard Breen, and alleged that Breen and McDonald conspired to have McDonald try the case before a new elected judge was seated to replace Maze. The motion also cited what it called “inexplicable” orders issued by McDonald.

    Five months before the case was set for trial, LG&E’s motion said, McDonald proclaimed, “I will take care of this particular case, and it will be assigned to me and me only until it it’s resolved.”

    LG&E lawyer David Monohan said the case marks the first time in 40 years of practice that he sought to remove a judge, and he wasn’t doing so “lightly.”

    McDonald refused a request to step down voluntarily, saying in court, “I have never in my 30 years’ service … crawled off a case … and I’m certainly not going to start now.”

    In a written order, McDonald said he wasn’t required by statute to recuse himself based on his association with Breen so long ago.

    Breen, who didn’t respond to a request for comment, said in court papers that McDonald had no financial interest in the case, that the referral discussion lasted all of “five seconds” and that Monohan knew that Breen and McDonald once practiced together because they were in a building that adjoined his.

    Breen accused Monohan of “judge shopping” and hoping to extend the case so he could bill more hours before he retired, which Monohan denied.

    “David lost a ruling, didn’t get his way and now accuses me and the court of unethical conduct,” Breen said, calling the motion to strike McDonald a “gratuitous mar made as the sun sets on a career of exemplary public service.”

    Without elaborating, Chief Justice Minton said in a two-page order that “upon review of the facts,” he had found that LG&E demonstrated “disqualifying circumstances that require appointment of a special judge.”

    The case was reassigned to Circuit Judge Jim Shake, who will try it if it isn’t dismissed or settled.

    http://www.courier-journal.com/artic...idiculous-case
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    Robbed of $1.9 million? Who keeps that much money in their house??

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    New judge sought in death penalty case

    An assistant public advocate has filed a motion to disqualify Senior Judge Martin McDonald from hearing a death penalty case in which he threatened to strangle the lawyer if he called again on the judge’s cell phone and called the lawyer’s case “ridiculous,” “disgusting” and a “huge waste of time.”

    David Barron filed a motion and affidavit Monday asking Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr. to take McDonald off the case, in which death-row inmate Roger Dale Epperson is seeking a new trial based on his claims that his trial lawyers were ineffective.

    “It is my opinion that throughout the proceeding, Judge McDonald expressed his personal disgust and disdain for me and made clear he harbors a bias towards me and my client,” whom McDonald referred to as a “carcass.”

    Barron said that in a previous hearing, McDonald made a threatening gesture toward him and said “in the old days we would just have pugil sticks and settle the matter that way.” A pugil stick is a padded polelike training weapon used in military combat training.

    McDonald said in an interview earlier this month that he was being facetious when he threatened to strangle Barron, although leading national ethics experts said his comments showed that he had appeared to prejudge the case.

    The attorney general’s office is reviewing the motion and hasn’t decided whether to oppose it, spokeswoman Allison Martin said.

    Judges are rarely disqualified from sitting, although Minton did remove McDonald from a civil case last month after allegations that he failed to disclose a conflict of interest and demonstrated other bias.

    http://www.courier-journal.com/artic...news|text|Home
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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    Judge Disqualified In Death Penalty Case

    A Jefferson County judge has been removed from a death penalty case at the request of the defense lawyer, who says the judge is biased toward him and the defendant.

    The Courier-Journal reports Kentucky Chief Justice John D. Minton disqualified Senior Judge Martin McDonald in an order dated Oct. 24.

    Assistant Public Advocate David Barron asked this month that McDonald be removed from the case of death row inmate Roger Dale Epperson, who is seeking a new trial. Barron said McDonald made a threatening gesture toward him, threatened to strangle the lawyer if he called the judge's cell phone again and called the lawyer's case "ridiculous."

    McDonald has said he was being facetious when he threatened to strangle Barron.

    Minton also removed McDonald from a civil case in September.

    http://www.lex18.com/news/judge-disq...-penalty-case/

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    Somewhat related

    Judge Facing Criticism Over Comments Again

    A judge who was removed from a death penalty case over comments he made to the defendant and his attorney is facing new criticism over remarks in a separate case.

    The Courier-Journal (http://cjky.it/TQ6BZa) reports senior Judge Martin McDonald told public defender Carlos Wood during a hearing this month that he was acting like he didn't know what was going on during the proceeding. When Wood objected, McDonald said his part of the hearing was over.

    Chief Jefferson County public defender Dan Goyette called McDonald's comments inappropriate and "disrespectful."

    McDonald declined to comment to the newspaper.

    The complaint comes weeks after McDonald was removed from a separate case at the request of the defense attorney, who claimed that the judge's words and actions showed he was biased.

    http://www.lex18.com/news/judge-faci...comments-again
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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    Ky weighs suspending judge over behavior during death penalty appeal; Hearing set for Tuesday

    Kentucky judicial officials are moving to suspend a senior judge over allegations of misbehavior during two hearings, including an appeal from a death row inmate.

    A hearing is set for Tuesday in Paducah for Senior Judge Martin McDonald before the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission.

    The commission says McDonald had a stroke about 18 months ago which affects his ability to filter his remarks. In one of the cases cited by the commission, McDonald threatened to strangle an attorney for a death row inmate if the lawyer called the judge on his cellphone again.

    The commission also noted that McDonald missed two informal judicial conferences.

    McDonald's lawyer said the judge has completed his judicial service as of Friday and doesn't intend to return to hear any more case.

    http://www.therepublic.com/view/stor...ior-Suspension
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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    Louisville judge temporarily suspended for threatening lawyer

    A Louisville judge accused of threatening to strangle a lawyer has been temporarily suspended by the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission.

    Senior Judge Martin McDonald was temporarily removed from the bench with pay this week pending the resolution of two ethics-related cases.

    In one case, the commission says McDonald told an assistant public advocate that if he ever called his cell phone again, he would strangle him. The remarks came in the death penalty case of Roger Dale Epperson last September.

    McDonald's lawyer, Timoth Denison, says the commission lost jurisdiction over McDonald because his 600 days of service as a senior judge ended.

    The commission's chairman says the Administrative Office of the Courts was unable to confirm that because McDonald hadn't turned in paperwork.

    http://www.wdrb.com/story/22525763/l...atening-lawyer
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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    Related

    Former judge reprimanded, commission concludes he mishandled death penalty case, civil matter

    A former Louisville judge has been publicly reprimanded after the state's Judicial Conduct Commission concluded he threatened to strangle a lawyer and refused to allow a plaintiff to argue his civil case.

    The commission on Monday found one-time jurist Martin McDonald guilty of misconduct when he handled the cases in 2012 and 2013.

    The commission earlier this year suspended McDonald from hearing cases after his behavior in the case of a death row inmate and a civil case involving a plaintiff without a lawyer came to light.

    In the death penalty case, McDonald called the proceedings a waste of time. In the civil case, he refused to let the plaintiff argue his case because he's not an attorney.

    McDonald retired from the judiciary after the charges were brought.

    http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/sto.../#.Ugj6nKzb1Xg
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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