subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Fri, Nov 21 2008 

Published: August 29, 2008 05:03 pm    print this story   email this story   comment on this story  

Judge rejects new trials for white supremacists

The Associated Press

Little Rock, Ark (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday declined to grant new trials to a pair of white supremacists found guilty of the 1996 robbery and murders of an Arkansas family.

U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Eisele issued two opinions rejecting post-conviction relief for convicted murderers Chevie Kehoe and Danny Lee.

Kehoe’s argument for a new trial included, among other claims, ineffective assistance of counsel and denial of his constitutional rights. Lee had argued for a new trial because he claimed that the death penalty was applied in error and because of newly discovered evidence.

After a two-month trial, Lee and Kehoe were convicted in May 1999 of capital murder, racketeering and conspiracy in what prosecutors said was a plan to overthrow the federal government and set up a whites-only nation in the Pacific Northwest.

The two were found guilty of the murders of Tilly gun dealer William Mueller, his wife Nancy, and her 8-year-old daughter, Sarah Powell. Their bodies were found in a backwater of Illinois Bayou north of Russellville.

Lee, of Yukon, Okla., was sentenced to death; Kehoe, of Colville, Wash., the alleged ring leader, was given a life sentence.

In his ruling on Lee’s request for a new trial, Eisele again rapped the U.S. attorney general for pursuing the death penalty against Lee. After Kehoe was given a life sentence, government lawyers said they would not seek the death penalty for Lee, as had been planned. But they decided to pursue their original plans after consulting with then-Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder.

Eisele later ruled that he was wrong to allow the government to seek the death penalty on the authority of a deputy attorney general instead of the attorney general. A federal appeals court, however, upheld Lee’s death sentence.

“While this court may agree ... that Deputy Attorney General Holder’s decision to require the government to continue to seek the death penalty against Lee was unreasonable, unfair, and possibly even an abuse of prosecutorial discretion, the question is whether that decision violated the Constitution,” Eisele wrote in Thursday’s ruling. “The court concludes that it did not.”

print this story   email this story   comment on this story  

Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.



monster
wheels
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Premium jobs

#42511
Indian Territory
“One Company, One Choice”

• Certified Home Health Aide - Ada area
• Personal Care
...>MORE

42447
Drivers Wanted!! (CDL/HAZMAT) Sunoco Logistics Crude Trucking New Pay Scale. Top Commission Pay. Problem: You’re an OTR ...>MORE

42619
Big Five Community Services seeks employees to work with individuals with developmental disabilities in Ada and Konawa. ...>MORE

#41813
Burger King Now hiring part time & full time positions. Starting wage $7./hour. Day & evening shifts available.
App
...>MORE

#42449
Now Hiring for: General Construction
for the Ada area.

Apply at:
1159 N. Hills Centre
Ada, OK
...>MORE

42326
Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, Inc. is hiring at our Ada, OK store! Assistant Manager. *Competitive Pay - DOE. *B...>MORE

42646
Personal Care Attendants needed in the Ada & Roff areas. $8/hr. No experience necessary. Must be 18 yrs. old with no cri...>MORE

42183
REGISTERED NURSE to work Monday through Friday. Jan Frances Care Center, 815 N. Country Club Rd., Ada, OK....>MORE

#42427
American Red Cross
has IMMEDIATE OPENING for Pontotoc County Branch Manger.
Responsibilities: Continued develo
...>MORE

42636
REGIONAL SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL COORDINATOR
TechniSand, a subsidiary of Fairmount Minerals, Ltd. located in Roff,
...>MORE

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2008. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index