TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Supreme Court has ordered a retrial for a man serving a life sentence for abusing a child.
The Supreme Court ruled Friday that Derek John Holt, who was convicted of indecent liberties with a child in Bourbon County in southeast Kansas five years ago, will get the new trial because a court reporter failed to record critical parts of his first trial.
The Wichita Eagle reports (http://bit.ly/1idvTQi ) Holt is serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for 25 years.
The Supreme Court ruled that a defense request for the alleged victim to undergo a psychological evaluation was critical to his defense strategy. But they said they didn’t have enough transcript to decide if the judge erred in denying the request.
