PINEVILLE, Mo. —
A dispute over a March 2011 agreement to reopen Sheena Eastburn’s first-degree-murder case resurfaced again Tuesday in a hearing before Circuit Judge Tim Perigo in McDonald County Circuit Court.
This time, Eastburn’s attorney, Kent Gipson, of Kansas City, directed his frustration at Jonathan Pierce, the McDonald County prosecutor.
Pierce and the county’s assistant prosecutor, Sherrie Hansen, argued that Perigo did not have jurisdiction to proceed on the case since Pierce had not agreed to reopen the case.
Gipson produced a document that was signed by Pierce in front of Perigo in which he agreed to reopen the case. Pierce, who had been on the job for just two months, said he thought he was signing an agreement to have a hearing and that he did not know that it was an agreement to reopen the case.
Pierce said it was his mistake. He said he had learned a lesson.
Gipson countered by saying that Pierce was backtracking on a procedural issue after the court had already heard two days of testimony on arguments for and against reopening the case on grounds that Eastburn’s public defenders had failed to adequately represent her at trial.
Perigo said the agreement would stand and directed both attorneys to present proposed findings on two issues within 40 days. The issues pertain to the effectiveness of Eastburn’s legal representation on the first-degree murder charge and a recent ruling by the Supreme Court that it is unconstitutional to sentence a juvenile to life in prison without parole.
Gipson presented an order to the court at the beginning of Tuesday’s hearing that would have vacated Eastburn’s conviction of first-degree murder in the slaying of her ex-husband, Tim Eastburn, in 1992. Perigo said he did not approve of the form of the order submitted by Gipson, questioning whether the sentence — not the conviction — should be set aside.
“I’m not signing it today,’’ said Perigo.
Eastburn, who was 17 at the time of the slaying, was sentenced in 1995 to life imprisonment without parole for being an accomplice in the murder of her ex-husband. An appeal for a new trial because of ineffective counsel was denied two years later.
Gipson said vacating the conviction is the only judicial remedy and that could happen by “judge, jury or by agreement.’’
He said the Supreme Court struck down Missouri’s statute that permitted juveniles in cases of first-degree murder to be given either the death penalty or life in prison without possibility of parole. He said a judge does not have the authority under Missouri law to sentence someone convicted of first-degree murder to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
He argued the conviction must be vacated and reduced to second-degree murder, which would effectively reduce Eastburn’s sentence to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Gipson, in arguing that Eastburn did not have adequate counsel during her trial, sought a new trial in an effort to have her sentence reduced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. The Supreme Court’s decision could accomplish that without a new trial.
Eastburn, 36, who appeared in court Tuesday in leg chains and handcuffs, did not testify during the hearing. Representatives of the Eastburn family did not attend Tuesday’s hearing.
In previous testimony, Eastburn testified she had no “lengthy meetings” with either of her public defenders before her trial.
While Eastburn was being held in the McDonald County Jail, she allegedly was raped by jailer Terrie Zornes. Gipson said Eastburn’s public defenders at the time of her murder trial could have used the incident to reach a plea deal in which Eastburn would plead guilty to second-degree murder instead of murder in the first degree.
Zornes, 47, of Pineville, was charged in the Eastburn rape case after new evidence came to light last year. In a plea bargain in September, he obtained dismissal of the rape charge in exchange for pleading guilty to making sexual advances toward a teenage girl in 2010. He is serving four years in a state prison for making the advances toward the 14-year-old girl.
Examinations
TESTS FOR HER TRIAL in 1995 showed that Eastburn was competent to stand trial, but that she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder because of sexual assaults at age 13. She also was suffering from depression, according to court records.
Local News
Reopening of McDonald County woman's first-degree-murder case disputed in court
- Local News
-
-
Pittsburg crews work to repair storm damaged Schlanger Park
City crews using heavy equipment spent Thursday cleaning up Schlanger Park after a storm tracked through Monday night.
-
Cunningham Park vandalism bill estimated at $4,000
The city estimates that vandals caused about $4,000 worth of property damage in Cunningham Park, draining the swimming pool of 200,000 gallons of water and moving some large landscaping rocks into the reflecting pond.
-
Content of book, students' access to it at issue in hearing for suspended teacher
A standing-room only crowd is present at the hearing this morning to decide the fate of suspended Joplin Middle School teacher Randy Turner, who has asked for the hearing before the board of education.
-
VIDEO: Restore Joplin designer stepping up to help Moore tornado victims
The designer of the Restore Joplin T-shirts who helped raise nearly a quarter-million dollars for Joplin in the wake of the 2011 tornado has put together a similar design to raise money for residents of Moore, Okla.
-
Southeast Kansas foundation accepts donations for Moore
The Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas is accepting donations to assist the victims of the Moore, Okla., tornado.
-
Federal, state leaders salute Joplin’s recovery
A deadly May twister may have punched a hole in Joplin and Duquesne two years ago, but the resolve to repair it will help other communities stand strong when they face similar disasters. That was the message of state and national diginitaries to a crowd of about 2,500 who observed the second anniversary of Joplin’s devastating May 22, 2011, storm during a ceremony Wednesday in Cunningham Park.
-
Banner from Joplin to be sent to Moore residents
A giant vinyl banner adorned with heartfelt messages from Joplin tornado survivors to the residents of Moore, Okla., became a centerpiece of Wednesday’s observance of the two-year anniversary of the May 22, 2011, tornado.
-
Hired hand won’t face death penalty in Vernon County murder case
The state has agreed not to seek the death penalty against Jeremy L. Maples in the murder of Belinda J. Beisly, but prosecutors have yet to take the option off the table for the victim’s husband, Bob T. Beisly II.
-
Families in Moore, Joplin linked by disasters
Zach Woodcock knew the storms were going to be bad on May 22, 2011, so turning on the Weather Channel was a natural. What he saw filled him with fear. The Moore resident’s family lived in Joplin, Mo.
-
Carl Junction officials weigh cost of proposed skate park
The public facilities and planning committee of Carl Junction met Tuesday to discuss plans for a proposed skate park near the site of the old public works barn on Water Street. The committee reviewed a design from American Ramp Co. of Joplin to get what committee chairman Tim Smith said was a “rough idea of layout and cost” for the project.
- More Local News Headlines
-
