Appellate lawyer remembers a 1992 client and wins new trial for woman convicted in lawyer's murder
An appellate lawyer representing a woman convicted of murdering Cincinnati lawyer Ryan Poston helped her win a new trial after recognizing the name of one of the jurors.
Judge Fred Stine of Campbell County, Kentucky, granted a new trial last Thursday to Shayna Hubers because one of her jurors had failed to disclose he was a felon, report ABC News and the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Hubers’ appellate lawyer had represented the juror in 1992 when he pleaded guilty for failing to pay child support. The juror said he didn’t remember pleading guilty and didn’t realize he was a convicted felon.
Hubers was convicted of murdering Poston, her sometimes boyfriend, on the night he was scheduled for a date with a beauty queen, Miss Ohio 2012.
Hubers had claimed she was acting in self-defense when she killed Poston. But Hubers’ cellmate testified that Hubers laughed about the shooting and said she gave Poston the nose job he always wanted.
Kentucky bars felons from serving on juries, and Hubers is entitled to a new trial without having to establish the outcome would have been different if the juror had not served, Stine said.
The lawyer who recognized the juror’s name, Deanna Dennison, spoke with the Cincinnati Enquirer about the turn of events. “They could have chosen any one of a million attorneys,” Dennison said. “They happen to have chosen me to do the appeal. I happened to be the one who represented the convicted felon. Otherwise, no one would have picked up on this.”
