NEW ALBANY, Ind. (AP) - The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission has asked the state’s high court to suspend Floyd County Prosecutor Keith Henderson over findings that he acted unethically in a triple-murder case.
The commission hearing officer David L. Pippen recommended in August that the Indiana Supreme Court publicly reprimand Henderson, saying he violated ethics in pursuing a deal to write a book about the David Camm case between the second and third trials, the News and Tribune (https://bit.ly/2dAePX8 ) reported.
Camm was convicted in Floyd County in 2002 on charges that he murdered his wife and two children. He was retried and convicted in 2006, but that verdict was overturned on appeal.
Henderson was removed as prosecuting attorney before the third and final trial, which ended with Camm being acquitted in 2013.
According to court records, after Camm’s defense team learned of Henderson’s plans to write a book they asked that he be removed from the case. The request was denied initially but later granted on appeal by the state Supreme Court.
On Monday, Henderson’s attorneys and the commission filed petitions asking the Supreme Court to review Pippen’s findings before reaching a final decision.
Commission attorney David Hughes said Pippen’s findings lacked sufficient detail and context and that the evidence warrants Henderson’s suspension.
The disciplinary commission had previously accused Henderson of lying about the book deal and also said he was deceitful in seeking taxpayer funds to pay for his ethics defense.
Henderson’s attorney, Donald Lundberg, stated that a public reprimand was unnecessary because his client didn’t violate ethics rules. He argued that Henderson accepted the publishing agreement during Camm’s appeal of the second conviction, which the Indiana Attorney General had jurisdiction over, not Henderson. Lundberg also noted that Henderson cancelled all literary agreements and returned advance checks after Camm’s second conviction was reversed.
Henderson is currently running for Floyd County Circuit Court judge. He and his attorney have said they will not comment on the case while the review is ongoing.
___
Information from: News and Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind., https://www.newsandtribune.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.