Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill filed Jan. 8 for a 60-day extension before the release of John Myers, the man convicted in 2006 for the 2000 murder of IU student Jill Behrman.
Myers could be released on Jan. 28 because of a Sept. 30 ruling by District court judge James Sweeney that alleged Myers's attorneys were ineffective while representing him during the 2006 trial. Under this ruling, Myers would be released if the State of Indiana does not choose to retry him.
Approval of the 60 day extension would give Hill time to file an appeal against the Sept. 30 order, prolonging or preventing Myers' release or retrial.
According to the Jan. 8 motion, "extending the time will avoid wasting state judicial resources, avoid potential conflicts of interest between attorneys, and allow the Seventh Circuit to address a novel legal issue presented by this case."
The Sept. 30 ruling came after Myers' most recent appeal. In May 2008, an Indiana Court of Appeals panel upheld Myers’ conviction. In November 2013, Myers was denied release after the court conducted new hearings.The Indiana Court of Appeals again upheld his conviction in 2015, and the Indiana Supreme Court did not consider his 2015 appeal.
