Q2 Wyoming Headlines

Death row inmate attorneys seeking state records

Posted: Jul 19, 2010 6:40 PM

CHEYENNE - Lawyers for Wyoming's only death row inmate asked a judge Monday to force the state to provide records they say would help their investigation into alleged problems in the condemned man's state trial.

Dale Wayne Eaton was convicted in 2004 and sentenced to death for kidnapping, raping and murdering Lisa Marie Kimmell, 18, of Billings, Mont., in 1988.

The Wyoming Supreme Court rejected Eaton's appeal, but U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson agreed in December to delay Eaton's execution pending a review of his case in federal court.

His attorneys, Terry Harris and Sean O'Brien, are seeking records related to the prosecution and defense of Eaton's original trial.

They want Johnson to issue subpoenas for all records of communication among state and federal prosecutors, law enforcement and inmate Joe Dax, who testified that Eaton detailed the crime to him while they were jailed.

Eaton's attorneys say Casper District Attorney Michael Blonigen, who prosecuted Eaton, misled the court about his relationship with Dax. They also allege Dax later got a break at sentencing on a federal gun charge in part because of his assistance in Eaton's case, although Blonigen claimed the inmate made no deals with prosecutors.

The lawyers also are seeking the records related to their claim that Eaton's original attorney, Wyatt Skaggs, presented no evidence to the jury of Eaton's emotional or cognitive disabilities to show that Kimmell's murder wasn't premeditated. They want records from the Wyoming Division of Family Services, Wyoming Attorney's General office, Department of Corrections and county jails.

"This is not a broad request," O'Brien said. "It is actually a fairly surgical request."

David Delicath, senior assistant attorney general, called the requests a "fishing expedition." He said the defense team shouldn't get the records before it files its claim with the court, which hasn't happened yet.

"We need to know exactly what the claim is before we evaluate whether the discovery is appropriate," he said.

Johnson's ruling on the request is pending.

Topics: Billings KTVQ Eaton Wyoming death row