Judge dismisses charges against 2 Ky. men wrongfully convicted of killing woman in 'Satanic ritual'
Judge Bruce Butler says Assistant Attorney General Perry Ryan acted out of vindictiveness when he had a grand jury indict Jeffrey Clark and Keith Hardin.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A judge says a Kentucky prosecutor wrongly charged two men with kidnapping and perjury, after the Kentucky Supreme Court vacated their murder convictions.
Judge Bruce Butler says Assistant Attorney General Perry Ryan acted out of vindictiveness when he had a grand jury indict Jeffrey Clark and Keith Hardin.
The two were convicted of killing Rhonda Warford in 1992 as part of a Satanic ritual, and sentenced to more than 20 years in prison. Then new DNA evidence led Kentucky's highest court to order a new trial.
Butler dismissed the kidnapping and perjury charges.
There's no word yet on when the new trial is set to begin.
Related:
- Ky. Supreme Court clears the way for new trial in satanic killing case
- Men wrongfully convicted in 1992 'Satanic ritual' murder sue Louisville police, other investigators
- Men jailed for 'satanic ritual' murder face new charges, despite ruling of wrongful conviction
- Meade County 'satanic ritual' murder suspects remain in jail, despite ruling of wrongful conviction
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