The death penalty is still on the table if a guilty verdict is returned later this year in the case against Cylar Shemwell, one of two men charged with murder for a 2019 triple homicide. However, the case could never make it to trial if both parties agree to a deal through mediation.
Shemwell, now 36, is facing three counts of murder alongside Arnett Baines, now 35, for the shooting deaths of Robert D. Smith Jr., 35; Jay Michael Sowders, 43; and Christopher Carie, 18. They both face a first-degree assault because a fourth person, Carman Vanegas, who was 35 at the time, was also shot in the head but survived.
Judge Joe Castlen is now presiding over the case, filling in for Judge Jay Wethington while he is on medical leave. A hearing Friday afternoon included discussions on final motions before the trial, which is scheduled to start on June 3.
The motion to dismiss the death penalty was initially filed in March 2022 by the defense counsel but was deemed “premature to make a determination” by Wethington. Defense lawyer Leigh Jackson on Friday said that given that the trial is a month away, this would be an appropriate time to revisit the motion.
Jackson argued that Shemwell’s involvement in the incident is not enough to determine that Shemwell intended to murder the victims.
“In the video, it is clearly an individual other than Mr. Shemwell shooting Jay Sowders, Robert Smith, and Chris Carie. Mr. Shemwell is present, and we don’t dispute that,” Jackson said. “ … But there is no obligation on Mr. Shemwell’s part to report the crime or to try to stop these crimes. We don’t have any evidence that shows active participation in the planning and execution of these crimes and certainly nothing that shows he shared the intent of mens rea of Mr. [Arnett] Baines.”
Shemwell’s trial was originally going to take place after the one for Baines. However, Baines’ trial was postponed due to the defense needing time to argue a failed motion to remove the death penalty.
Because of the order of the two trials, Jackson argued it is “disproportionate to Mr. Shemwell” for him to be facing the death penalty when “we know he’s not the shooter.”
Commonwealth Attorney Mike Van Meter argued that, like the Commonwealth vs. Bredhold trial, the death penalty doesn’t have standing until the “jury recommends the death penalty” as a punishment.
“[The defense’s] challenge to the constitutionality or the disproportionate aspects of the death sentence is not right for this Court’s review until the jury recommends the death penalty,” Van Meter said.
Castlen ruled that the death penalty should not be dismissed, citing Commonwealth vs. Ryan and Commonwealth vs. Guernsey for his reasoning.
Another hearing was scheduled for May, yet the two parties are also discussing mediation. They will meet with Judge Phillip Patton to discuss mediation prior to their final hearing on May 20 before the trial.
According to Kentucky law, mediation is an informal process in which a neutral third person, called a mediator, facilitates the resolution of a dispute between two or more parties. The process is designed to help disputing parties reach an agreement on all or part of the issues in dispute. Decision-making authority remains with the parties, not the mediator.
