The Arkansas Supreme Court on December 16 issued two opinions denying Kenneth Isom’s post-conviction appeals. Isom was convicted in 2001 in the Drew County Circuit Court of the capital murder of Bill Burton and of the rape and attempted murder of an elderly relative of Burton who was staying with him while he recuperated from surgery. He was also convicted of aggravated robbery and residential burglary. Isom was sentenced to death on the murder and to life plus 100 years on the other charges.

Following the Supreme Court’s 2004 decision denying Isom’s initial appeal, he filed post-conviction petitions in the circuit court claiming that his trial attorney was ineffective and requesting additional DNA testing of two other men he argued were suspects in the crimes of which he was convicted. Circuit Judge Sam Pope denied both petitions, although Isom was allowed re-testing of his own DNA against the hair sample recovered from the rape victim. The re-testing did not exclude Isom as being a contributor of the sample. (At Isom’s trial, the DNA testing evidence reflected that the odds of finding another person with DNA consistent with Isom’s was one in 57 million.) 

According to Thomas D. Deen, Prosecuting Attorney for the Tenth Judicial District, “The Supreme Court’s rulings end the current proceedings in state court in Isom’s case, but he can and probably will petition the federal courts to review certain aspects of his conviction and sentence. The delay in concluding this case is typical of capital cases, but it is regrettable. It is past time for the sentence the jury justly imposed on Isom to be carried out.”

This entry was posted on Friday, December 17th, 2010 at 12:48 pm and is filed under Police /Legal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.