Man jailed for wife’s 1990 death seeks hearing under new law

By MARGARET STAFFORD
Associated Press

LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — Supporters of a Missouri man who has been jailed for 30 years in his wife’s death are hoping a new state law will allow him to prove his innocence, but so far the prosecutor says there’s no reason to take another look at the case. Ken Middleton is serving a life sentence after being convicted of killing his wife, Kathy Middleton, in their Blue Springs home in February 1990. The judge who presided over Middleton’s first trial vacated his conviction in 2005 and ordered a new trial, but an appeals court denied the new trial on jurisdictional grounds. The prosecutor’s office said its staff has reviewed the case several times and would consider it again if new evidence was presented.