The Kansas Supreme Court has affirmed a decision by Osage County District Court to not revisit a murder conviction dating back 20 years.
In February 2000, Billy Hill reached a plea agreement to several crimes, including premeditated first-degree murder in the 1998 death of Calvin Neu during a methamphetamine production investigation. District court had imposed a “Hard 25” sentence or 25 years in prison without a chance of parole. Hill did not file a direct appeal at that time, but he appealed in 2004, claiming ineffective counsel, illegal sentencing and threats to prosecute his daughter. When that appeal was dismissed, Hill filed again in 2008, 2014 and 2015, but those were either denied by district court or dismissed by Hill’s defense team.
In 2017, Hill filed what’s called a pro se motion to challenge the validity of his conviction, although district court saw the motion as setting the stage for a plea withdrawal and denied it as being untimely. Hill requested his conviction and sentence be set aside, citing several issues, but the Supreme Court sided with district court, saying Hill failed to establish excusable neglect in the case — which made the motion seven years late in being filed.
