LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Kentucky Supreme Court has overturned the murder conviction of a man sentenced to life in prison for the murders of a Louisville man and his 3-year-old daughter.
Kevon Lawless was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2022 after being convicted of two counts of murder and one count of burglary for killing Trinity Randolph and her father, Brandon Waddles, in 2020.
The shootings took place shortly after 1 p.m. on Aug. 14, 2020, in the 3700 block of Kahlert Avenue, near Strader Avenue.
The high court tossed out the verdict Thursday, saying Judge McKay Chauvin should have declared a mistrial after a witness perjured himself on the stand and was detained for it.
A juror saw news reports about it, but rather than declare a mistrial, Chauvin called back an alternate juror for deliberations.
This centers around a news report, heard by a juror and repeated during deliberations, saying a witness had lied on the stand and was then detained by the court.
According to court documents, the juror "felt they could 'no longer make a decision truthfully' after being informed of" the witness' arrest. Attorneys for Lawless moved for a mistrial, which was denied.
The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled a mistrial should have been granted. Now that Lawless' conviction has been reversed, the case was remanded back to the Jefferson Circuit Court for a possible retrial.
Right now, it's not clear if Lawless will be tried again. In a dissenting opinion, members of the state's high court said the denial of a mistrial did not significantly impact the facts of the case, and that the conviction should have been affirmed.
Lawless, who is behind bars at the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville, Kentucky, appealed his life sentence last September. But Attorney General Russell Coleman filed documents with the state supreme court to uphold the sentence.
This story may be updated.
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Man convicted of murdering Louisville man, his 3-year-old daughter appeals life sentence
Kevon Lawless sentenced to life in prison for killing Louisville man, his 3-year-old daughter
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