State fighting Attempt to Forestall Death Penalty for Eaton
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The Wyoming Attorney General's Office is fighting an attempt to block the state from reinstating the death penalty against a convicted murderer.
Sixty-nine-year-old Dale Wayne Eaton was convicted in 2004 of murdering 18-year-old Lisa Marie Kimmell of Billings, Montana. Eaton's lawyers don't dispute he killed her.
U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson in November overturned Eaton's death penalty. He said Eaton's trial lawyers had failed to present personal details that might have convinced jurors to spare his life.
Eaton's new lawyers want Johnson to reconsider his order giving prosecutors a choice of asking another jury to consider the death penalty for Eaton or giving him life without parole. On Monday the AG's Office urged Johnson to reject the request.