Former Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines is requesting a new judge to oversee his murder trial, arguing the current judge is unfit to preside over the case.
Stines is charged with the murder of Letcher County Judge Kevin Mullins.
Stines was caught on video shooting and killing Mullins in his chambers in 2024. His lawyers are pursuing an insanity defense, arguing he “lacked the capacity to intend” to shoot Mullins.
An affidavit from Stines argues the case’s judge, Chris Cohron, had personal ties with Mullins, which could influence his impartiality. The affidavit, and previous court filings, have cited a video that shows Cohron and Mullins sitting together at a Kentucky Judicial Commission committee meeting on mental health a week before the shooting.
“It is my belief that I will not be afforded a fair and impartial trial or pretrial proceedings by Judge Cohron and seek the designation of a special judge,” the affidavit reads.
The affidavit says the video also shows Mullins’ widow in attendance, and that it’s believed there was also a social or dinner event connected to the meeting. It also notes Cohron nodded in approval while Mullins discussed upcoming professional plans.
The defense has used the video as an argument for a new judge for months. In January, Stines’ legal team filed a motion asking Cohron to recuse himself from the case, a motion that he denied last month.
In his order, Cohron argued he has no personal bias or prejudice against anyone involved in the case, and there are no facts or circumstances from the video that put his impartiality into question.
