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Monday, August 30, 2010

Ind. Decisions - "COA upholds Terry Lay convictions"

So reports the Evansville Courier & Press this afternoon, in re the COA decision this morning in the case of Terry Gene Lay v. State of Indiana (ILB summary here). The report begins:

The Indiana Court of Appeals on Monday upheld the conviction of Evansville resident Terry Lay, who was found guilty of beating his 3-year-old son Kalab to death in 2008.

Lay's attorneys contested the trial judge's decision to allow Lay's wife, Amanda Brooks Lay, to waive marital privilege and testify against Terry Lay during the September 2009 trial.

The attorneys also challenged whether the state "provided sufficient evidence to sustain Lay's conviction for neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury" in regards to Lay's conviction in a case involving Kalab's twin sister Kayla, and whether the "abstract of judgment violates the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy."

The appeals court rules against Terry Lay on all three issues.

“In any case involving the horrific and senseless death of a young child, it is important that the prosecution and trial be conducted correctly the first time," said Attorney General Greg Zoeller, who represented the state in the appeal. "We aggressively defended the earlier actions taken by the prosecutor and the judge and have believed that defendant’s trial was fair, and that’s what the Court of Appeals has unanimously found as well."

Here is a long list of earlier ILB entries on the Kahlib Lay death.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 30, 2010 04:14 PM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions