On February 22, 2010, Shawnee County District Court Judge Mark Braun issued a decision that will give Phillip Cheatham a new sentencing hearing. His attorney, Dennis Hawver, had testified at an earlier hearing that he believed he provided ineffective counsel. Hawver, who had never tried a capital case, stated that he hadn’t talked to other defense attorneys about trying capital cases; wasn’t trained to defend a client in a death penalty case; hadn’t seen a capital defense before he represented Cheatham; hadn’t investigated the whereabouts of a man who would be an alibi witness for Cheatham; and didn’t take any statements from witness before the trial, including one shooting victim who survived. Cheatham had argued that his attorney provided ineffective representation during his entire trial, but the judge ruled that representation was adequate during the trial, but not during the penalty phase. Therefore, his convictions in two murders will stand. Since under Kansas law, only a jury may recommend a death sentence, a new jury will be convened to decide whether Cheatham should be sentenced to death.
