Appeal set for man sentenced to death for killing trooper

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) – A hearing is to begin later this month for an Oklahoma man who’s appealing the death sentence he was given after being convicted of killing an Oklahoma state trooper.
The hearing is set for March 27th in U.S. District Court in Muskogee for 55-year-old Kenneth Eugene Barrett.
The Muskogee Phoenix reports  the hearing is to focus on whether Barrett’s trial lawyers failed to develop mitigating circumstances during the penalty phase of his trial, resulting ineffective assistance of counsel by not having a complete assessment of Barret’s mental health.
The hearing is to continue in June when prosecutors present expert witnesses.
Barrett was convicted in 2005 and sentenced to death for the 1999 shooting death of Trooper David “Rocky” Eales during a drug raid at Barrett’s home in Sequoyah County.