Friday morning, via video teleconference, 56th Judicial Circuit Judge Jamus Redd sat alone in the quiet third floor of the Trigg County Judicial Center — and heard Kevin Wayne Dunlap’s defense team request a new trial in the capital case.
Dunlap’s new public defender, Margaret O’Donnell, and her team filed this motion under CR 11.42 — which is a motion to vacate, set aside or correct a sentence.
Twelve years ago, Dunlap, a former soldier from Hopkinsville, was sentenced in Livingston Circuit Court to six death penalties, three life sentences and 55 years in prison. It was the levied punishment from Judge C.A. “Woody” Woodall III for the 2008 Roaring Springs home arson and murders of 17-year-old Kayla Williams, 14-year-old Kortney Frensley, 5-year-old Ethan Frensley and the attempted murder of mother, Kristy Frensley.
While Friday’s hearing was simply procedural, the requested appearance for Dunlap has been filed and pending for more than six months.
Redd said he will await a reply that should be filed by August 15, and then added he will need a considerable amount of time to parse nearly 14 years of investigation, discovery, litigation, rebuttal and Kentucky Supreme Court documents — before making an ultimate decision on whether Dunlap will be granted a new trial.
O’Donnell is a death penalty attorney who’s also the founder of the Frankfort Immigration Assistance Network, an attorney for the Kentucky Poor People’s Campaign and member of the board for the Wanda Joyce Robinson Foundation.
She is joined with public defender Dennis Burke, who has decades of experience as a Louisville/Oldham County attorney and legal partner for the greater Louisville area.
Special prosecutor Chris Henry presided Friday, as well, and is the assistant attorney general under Daniel Cameron. He represents the state government in felony cases in Kentucky’s circuit courts, the Court of Appeals and the state Supreme Court. He’s already represented the Commonwealth in two post-conviction death-penalty cases.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Carrie Ovey-Wiggins was mailed a copy of the order, which was filed December 17, 2021.
In 2014, and after four years of incarceration, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled against Dunlap’s defense team — rejecting the case be reheard. This decision came less than three months after Dunlap filed a hand-written motion to end all appeals and sought his own execution.
In 2010, Dunlap pleaded guilty — against the advisement of his defense attorney, James Gibson.
Dunlap, now 50, is currently on death row at the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville.
