A bench trial is the next scheduled hearing for an Emporia man accused of killing another Emporian in a crash over four years ago.
Devawn Mitchell will appear before Judge Lee Fowler beginning Sept. 22 in a trial that could last three days.
Mitchell is into his second appeal after a bench trial before Judge Fowler after a high-speed traffic crash on West Sixth near Chestnut ended in the death of Steve Henry in 2021. In the initial trial, Fowler found Mitchell guilty on first-degree felony murder, aggravated assault on law enforcement and felony flee and elude charges. Mitchell was sentenced to nearly 50 years in prison afterward. Mitchell’s current appeal is based on ineffective counsel complaints, both against trial defense attorney Rick Meier and appellate defender Kurt Kerns.
Mitchell had initially appealed shortly after his sentencing in 2023, but the Kansas Supreme Court found no errors and affirmed both the convictions and sentence.
