Published: June 28, 2009 09:59 pm      

High court upholds Simpson’s conviction

Orders resentencing in 2007 murder case

FRANKFORT — The Kentucky Supreme Court has affirmed the murder conviction and life sentence given to an Ashland man in the 2006 shooting death of a woman who had been living at his apartment.

However, the high court ordered the case of Timothy Scott Simpson be remanded to Boyd Circuit Court for a new sentencing hearing because of an error in the manner in which he was sentenced.

Simpson, 26, was sentenced to life for murdering Faith Clay, 28, of Flatwoods, in his Boyd Street apartment in February 2006. Jurors also convicted Simpson of evidence-tampering for moving the gun used in the shooting prior to police arriving and recommended he be sentenced to five years on that charge, to run consecutively with his life term.

However, according to the supreme court’s ruling, handed down Thursday, Kentucky law does not allow a defendant to be sentenced to a term of years to run consecutive with a life sentence.

“Accordingly, we ... vacate the sentence, and remand to the trial court for resentencing to order that the five-year sentence be run concurrent with the life sentence,” justices wrote.

Justices also agreed with the contention of Simpson’s appellate attorney, David Nicholas Zorin of Lexington, that Boyd Commonwealth’s Attorney David Justice made “improper remarks” during his opening and closing statements at Simpson’s trial in March 2007. However, the high court said those remarks did not rise to the level of “palpable error,” particularly given the overwhelming evidence of Simpson’s guilt.

Those remarks involved two of Simpson’s cell mates at the Boyd County Detention Center who were not called as witnesses during the trial, the ruling states.

Clay, who had been staying with Simpson for about three weeks prior to the shooting, was found on Simpson’s couch on Feb. 16, 2006, dead of a gunshot wound to her right eye. Police initially thought Clay’s death was a suicide, and Simpson told officers Clay had shot herself with his 9 mm pistol.

However, investigators began to suspect Simpson had shot Clay after learning he had been known to fire his gun around his apartment, with homemade silencers fashioned from plastic two-liter soft drink bottles attached to the barrel.

Shards of green plastic that appeared to come from a soft drink bottle were found in Clay’s hair, on her head and under her right eye. A portion of a white plastic bottle ring also was found on her body.

Defense witnesses testified during Simpson’s trial that Clay was a homeless drug addict who was depressed over having her three children taken away from her and who had made statements about killing herself.

However, prosecution witnesses countered that the levels of methadone and Xanax in Clay’s system at the time of the shooting were so high she likely would have been incapable of firing a gun, especially one with a two-liter bottle attached to it.

Simpson’s appeal of his conviction bypassed the Kentucky Court of Appeals because, under state law, all cases involving sentences of 20 years or longer go directly to the high court.

Simpson is serving his life sentence at the Kentucky State Penitentiary at Eddyville. Under state sentencing guidelines, he will be eligible to meet with the parole board after he has served 20 years.

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.