A former Kentucky sheriff charged in a judge’s shooting death has pleaded not guilty. Former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines entered the plea Monday in the same Whitesburg courthouse where prosecutors say he killed District Judge Kevin Mullins in September.

Summary

Former Kentucky sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines pleaded not guilty to the fatal courthouse shooting of District Judge Kevin Mullins.

Stines’ defense attorney highlighted a deposition he gave before the shooting as a significant factor in the case, suggesting it could provide evidence of emotional disturbance.

Stines faces the death penalty if convicted of the murder charge.

  • Bob Robertson IX @discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    471·
    16 days ago

    Bartley suggested that murder was not the appropriate charge because the shooting came at a time of “extreme emotional disturbance” for his client.

    The extreme emotional disturbance is because he was accused of not properly training and supervising his deputy… who raped a woman in the judge’s office.

    While you’d think an adult (the deputy) would know that they shouldn’t rape someone, the sheriff is the one who deputized him, and is responsible for giving him power in the community.

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
      252·
      16 days ago

      There’s also this:

      The detective also testified that Stines tried calling his daughter on Mullins’ phone and his own phone just before the shooting. Investigators found no weapon on Mullins or in his chambers, the detective said.

      In another article it said that wasn’t the only time the judge’s number had called the sherrif’s daughter

      This is Lechter County, it’s where a special was filmed about Appalachian poverty back in the 60s. Like, modern stereotypes of hillbillies are literally based on these families. The Mullins’ were one of the first family’s there, this wasn’t just any judge, it was a judge from one of the families who’s ran this county for over 200 years, and not just any county, one of the poorest in the nation.

      Occam’s razor and all, but I’ve had my eye on this one for a while now. Some crazy shit is liable to come out of this, there’s a lot of skeletons hidden in hollers.

      And there’s a very good chance the judge and sheriff were both wildly corrupt.

      • solrize@lemmy.world
        11·
        15 days ago

        I saw a reddit post claiming the shooting was because the judge was fooling around with the sheriff’s daughter. That also fits the stereotype I guess.