Balentine appeal denied
Posted: March 26, 2012 - 9:53pm
By BOBBY CERVANTES
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bobby.cervantes@amarillo.com

The United States Supreme Court refused Monday to hear the appeal of an Arkansas man convicted of a 1998 triple slaying in Amarillo.

The court denied 43-year-old John Balentine’s petition to hear his claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel claim — effectively lifting a stay of execution the court ordered in June and allowing the 47th District Attorney’s Office to request a new execution date.

Randall Sims, Potter County’s chief prosecutor, said Monday he will begin the process by asking a state district judge to order a new date for Balentine to be put to death.

A Potter County jury in 1999 found Balentine guilty of fatally shooting three teenagers in the head with a .32-caliber pistol while they were asleep, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice records.

On Jan. 21, 1998, Balentine entered a residence at 510 E. 17th Ave. and killed Edward Mark Caylor, 17; Kai Brooke Geyer, 15; and Steven Brady Watson, 15, prosecutors said at trial.

Prosecutors said the incident stemmed from an argument between Balentine and Caylor, whose sister had been in a relationship with Balentine.

Balentine has long argued his attorney did not call any witnesses or evidence on Balentine’s behalf during the punishment phase of his trial, attorney Lydia Brandt said. The jury should have heard about the defendant’s violent and abusive childhood, which could have swayed the jury against the death penalty, Brandt said.

“It’s not over yet,” Brandt said Monday in a brief interview.

She declined to discuss the case further while she continued appeals to halt an execution.

Baletine has received two stays of execution since 1999, when he was placed on death row, state records show.

http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2012-03-26/balentine-appeal-denied