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| Utah Supreme Court Weighs Prison Slayer's Appeal |
| By Salt Lake Tribune |
| Published: 10/05/2001 |
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White supremacist Troy Kell was already serving two life sentences for murder when he took the life of a fellow Utah prison inmate in cold blood -- stabbing his handcuffed, unarmed victim 67 times while security cameras captured the assault on tape. The brutality of the crime and Kell's unquestionable guilt mean his conviction and death sentence should stand, prosecutors told the Utah Supreme Court Wednesday during arguments held at Brigham Young University. Defense attorney Stephen McCaughey has asked the justices to grant Kell a new trial, arguing jurors were unfairly prejudiced by undergoing special security measures before attending Kell's trial inside the Central Utah Correctional Facility in Gunnison. 'You're in a courtroom in the center of the prison, and I think that's the antithesis of a fair trial,' McCaughey said. Assistant Attorney General Laura DuPaix rejects the contention, saying jurors attending trials elsewhere also go through security measures. Kell was unshackled and wore civilian clothes during his 1996 trial, she said. 'Trying Mr. Kell was going to involve extra stringent security wherever the trial was held, and that's because Mr. Kell is a dangerous person,' she said. Kell and a co-defendant in the prison murder were the first two Utah defendants to be tried in a prison courtroom, which was chosen for security reasons, DuPaix said. But at least three other states have conducted trials in prisons, she said. Kell was placed in Gunnison as part of a prison exchange program. He was convicted of fatally shooting a Nevada man at the age of 18 before he murdered fellow inmate Lonnie Blackmon, 33, in July 1994. At trial, Kell testified he killed Blackmon because the fellow inmate had threatened his life. But prosecutors say the crime was motivated by hate: Blackmon was black; Kell is an admitted white supremacist. Video footage of the murder also shows Kell wiping blood from his hands and yelling, 'White power!' while other inmates cheered after the stabbing. On Wednesday, McCaughey told the justices Kell should be allowed a new sentencing hearing, if not a new trial. He argued two jurors who said they had reservations about the death penalty, but could have imposed it, were improperly dismissed. DuPaix dismissed the idea, saying one of the jurors went so far as to beg the court to be dismissed so she would not have to impose the penalty. McCaughey also claims his client had no other choice but to kill or be killed after Blackmon threatened him in prison. But DuPaix told the high court Kell had myriad options, including notifying officers of the alleged threats. Such options are unrealistic for those in prison, McCaughey said. 'In prison, if you do that, you're a snitch and your life is made a hell from then on,' he said. Last month, Kell tricked a Corrections officer into letting him out of his maximum-security cell, and he assaulted an inmate who is Hispanic and black, in what officials have said was a racially motivated assault. The victim suffered minor bruises before Corrections officers rushed in and broke up the fight. Kell's execution has been stayed pending the outcome of the appeal. |
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