Devawn Mitchell’s appeal of his first-degree murder conviction in Lyon County District Court last year goes before the Kansas Supreme Court this week.
Mitchell’s appeal will take place at 10:30 am Wednesday in Topeka. The hearing could take about 15 minutes to complete.
Mitchell started the appeals process this past June, shortly after receiving nearly 50 years in prison as part of his sentence in May for single counts of first-degree murder and aggravated assault on law enforcement and three counts of flee and elude.
Mitchell led two pursuits across parts of Emporia and was driving at a high rate of speed when his car hit Steve Henry’s truck, killing him almost instantly. Officers had called off a pursuit because of unsafe driving conditions shortly before the crash.
Henry, meanwhile, was a 1989 inductee into the Emporia State Athletics Hall of Honor. He was a four-year letterman in both football and track. After his time at Emporia State, Henry was drafted by the then-St. Louis Cardinals in 1979 and played three years in the NFL with the Cardinals, New York Giants and Baltimore Colts. During the 2019 season, he also was an analyst for several Emporia State football broadcasts on Mix 104.9 FM.
