LETCHER COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — The defense team for former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn Mickey Stines has filed a motion requesting a hearing to determine if their client has a serious intellectual disability or mental illness that would exclude him from facing the death penalty.
Stines is charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting of Letcher County District Judge Kevin Mullins in September 2024. The shooting occurred inside the judge's chambers at the Letcher County Courthouse in Whitesburg.
News
Defense for former KY sheriff seeks to remove judge from case, docs reveal
According to court documents filed February 9, Stines' attorneys, Jeremy Bartley, Kerri Bartley, and James Cox, are seeking a hearing under Kentucky Revised Statutes 532.135 to present evidence regarding their client's "intellectual functioning and/or mental health status."
"The Defendant has reason to believe that he/she may qualify as a defendant with a serious intellectual disability or serious mental illness as defined by Kentucky law," the motion states.
Under Kentucky law, defendants determined to have a serious intellectual disability or serious mental illness cannot be executed. The statute requires the court to make this determination at least 90 days before trial begins.
The defense indicated they plan to present sealed evidence during the hearing, though specific details about Stines' alleged condition were not disclosed in the filing.
The motion requests that the hearing be scheduled after the resolution of a pending recusal motion, but no later than 120 days before trial. Kentucky law requires defendants to file such motions at least 120 days before trial to avoid waiver of this protection.
If the court determines Stines qualifies under the statute, jurors would not receive instructions regarding the death penalty, and death penalty-related jury selection would not be necessary.
