LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The Kentucky Supreme Court has thrown out the murder convictions and life sentence against a man found guilty in 2016 of killing two people in Shively.
The high court unanimously ruled that Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Judith McDonald-Burkman erred when she didn't allow defendant William Truss to be present on the first day jurors were chosen in his death penalty trial.
Truss was found guilty of shooting cousins Derek Slade and Latoy Bray in 2012. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 25 years.
Police say they found Truss inside a car with the bodies, near the Shively exit on the Watterson Expressway.Â
On the first day of his trial, Truss’ attorneys told Judge McDonald-Burkman that Truss was too ill to come to court for jury selection and asked for a delay, which the judge denied.
The state Supreme Court ruled Truss had a constitutional right to be present and participate in his defense.
“To say that the court’s error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt would be an injustice to Truss and deprive him of his constitutional rights,” according to the ruling.
The court sent the case back to McDonald-Burkman for a new trial.
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