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A federal appeals
court panel on Friday upheld the convictions and life sentences of
five Kansas Citians in the 1988 construction site explosion that
killed six firefighters.
The 26-page
decision upheld U.S. District Judge Joseph E. Stevens Jr.'s handling
of the case and affirmed his decisions on every appeal point raised
by attorneys for Darlene M. Edwards, Richard W. Brown, Earl D.
Sheppard, Bryan E. Sheppard and George Frank Sheppard.
Lawyers for the
five argued in their appeal that Stevens had denied them a fair trial
by refusing to grant separate trials, by not allowing defense lawyers
to present their case and by not ruling that the statute of
limitations had expired.
At an April
hearing, appeals court judges sharply questioned prosecutors about
their case, and that led some to speculate they might rule in favor
of the defense.
Friday, however,
Judge James B. Loken, writing a unanimous decision for the
three-judge panel, declared that the defendants had received a fair
trial.
"The evidence
was sufficient for a reasonable jury to find that defendants set the
fire that caused the fatal explosions," Loken wrote.
Edwards' attorney,
Willard B. Bunch, said he would ask the full 8th Circuit Court of
Appeals to reconsider.
"Obviously
we're disappointed," Bunch said. "I'm surprised at what I'm
reading, because we had a good appeal and good arguments."
Should the full
circuit agree with the panel, appeals would go even higher, said John
O'Connor, who represented Bryan Sheppard.
"If there's
any issue we can take to the Supreme Court, we'll take it all the
way," O'Connor said. "I firmly believe in my client's
innocence."
U.S. Attorney
Stephen L. Hill and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Becker, who tried
the case, on Friday were in Washington, where Becker received an
award from Attorney General Janet Reno for his work on the case.
In a telephone
interview, Hill said the ruling reminded him of those who had
suffered the most from the explosion's aftermath.
"The bravery
of those firefighters was matched by the bravery of the families
during the investigation and trial," Hill said. "I hope the
families get some sense of closure here."
Leo Halloran,
brother of firefighter Gerald Halloran, who was killed in the blast,
said he was elated by the ruling. But he said closure never really
comes.
"I'm really
relieved I don't have to go to my grave without finding out who did
it, but to me it seems like it happened three or four days ago,"
Halloran said. "There will never be complete closure. It's
something that will be with us for the rest of our lives."
Fire Chief Rick
Brisbin, who plans a November memorial service to mark the 10th
anniversary of the firefighters' deaths, applauded the court's
decision and the prosecutors' work.
"We're glad
it worked out for the families of firefighters here and the extended
families of firefighters all around the country," Brisbin said.
"Maybe we can close this chapter in the darkest day of the
Kansas City Fire Department."
That day began in
the early hours of Nov. 29, 1988, as six firefighters approached a
burning construction trailer on a highway construction site in
southeast Kansas City. They did not know it contained 25,000 pounds
of explosives.
When the trailer
exploded, James Kilventon, Halloran, Michael Oldham, Luther Eugene
Hurd, Robert McKarnin and Thomas Fry were killed instantly.
After the
explosion, police focused on the Sheppards and south Kansas City's
Marlborough neighborhood. The next year Jackson County prosecutors
obtained a six-count murder indictment against Bryan Sheppard, but
charges were dismissed three months later.
A 1995 segment on
the television show "Unsolved Mysteries" provoked hundreds
of new phone calls to investigators, many naming the Sheppards or
their friends.
A grand jury
issued indictments in 1996. At the trial in January 1997, prosecutors
called 50 witnesses who said that one or two of the defendants had
discussed or confessed involvement with the explosion. All five
defendants told police in 1988 that they were asleep when the
explosion occurred, but none testified at trial.
All were convicted
of aiding and abetting the arson that caused the deaths of the
firefighters, a capital offense. Stevens sentenced each to life in
prison without possibility of parole.
Bryan Sheppard's
mother, Virginia Sheppard, said Friday that the case had been a
nightmare for the families of those convicted.
"It's
heartbreaking for the innocent people sitting in there and their
families who have had to suffer through it," said Virginia
Sheppard, who hadn't yet spoken with her son about the decision.
"Maybe God will bring them home. I have all the faith in
God."
Speaking for Louie
Wright, president of Local 42 of the International Association of
Fire Fighters, retired Capt. Joe Galetti said the city could be
relieved at the court's decision.
"We're happy
that justice prevails," Galetti said. "This provides
closure for the families and the men and women of Local 42." |
