The Kentucky Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a Hopkinsville man who was charged with murder in the 2016 stabbing deaths of his two sisters.
During a bench trial, Christian Circuit Court Judge John Atkins found Robert Rogers mentally ill, but competent to stand trial and found him guilty on two counts of murder in connection to the August 2016 deaths of Joanne Rogers and Carolyn Coleman. Judge Atkins suggested a 20-year sentence on each count of murder but agreed they could be served at the same time.
At the formal sentencing, attorneys for Rogers filed a notice of appeal. They argued that the trial court erroneously found that he was guilty but mentally ill because the evidence presented at trial demonstrated that he was insane (rather than mentally ill) at the time he committed the charged acts, and he cannot, therefore, be held criminally responsible for his acts; and that the trial court erred by not recusing after expressing bias against him the morning of the trial, and by not granting him a new trial based on its failure to recuse.
The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that the court proceedings did, in fact, determine that Rogers had a history of mental illness and was not taking his medication at the time of the murders, and that Judge Atkins was correct in his ruling that there was sufficient evidence Rogers understood his actions when he attempted to clean up the scene prior to the arrival of police.
In addition, they ruled that the judge did not have to recuse himself from the case when he asked about a guilty plea before the trial began because he believed the parties had reached an agreement, and therefore did not require a new trial.
