Lexington judge tosses murder case, accuses prosecutors of misconduct

A Fayette County judge dismissed a murder case three years after a deadly hit-and-run near Leestown Road and accused the Fayette Commonwealth Attorney’s Office of misconduct for a “pattern” of seeking harsher convictions against Black defendants.

Fayette Circuit Judge Julie Goodman on Friday dismissed a murder indictment against Cornell Denmark Thomas II, 37, who was arrested in September 2020 in connection with the death of Tammy Botkin. Botkin died in the July 3, 2020 crash.

Lexington police said Botkin was turning from Boiling Springs Drive onto Leestown Road when her vehicle was hit by an SUV that was being driven “at a high rate of speed.” Botkin’s car caught fire, and Thomas tried to run before being caught by police and taken to the hospital, police said. Botkin was pronounced dead at the scene.

Thomas was indicted soon after on charges of murder and leaving the scene of an accident/failure to render aid, according to Fayette Circuit Court records. Prior to this indictment, Thomas had no criminal history, according to his attorney and state court records.

Goodman’s order dismissing the indictment was 24 pages long and detailed “serious” issues she had with the way prosecutors handled the case.

“As noted in its Findings of Fact, the Court has serious concerns over the way this case and others have been prosecuted, each of which could justify a basis for dismissing the indictment,” Goodman wrote in her ruling.

Neither Fayette Commonwealth’s Attorney Kimberly Baird or Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Amanda Naish were in their office for comment Monday. Prosecutors do have the option to appeal Goodman’s decision to dismiss the case.

Judge: Prosecutors have ‘pattern of disparate charging’

Goodman took issue with the difference in how defendants are treated in the courts system based on race, writing in her order that in her 15-year tenure on the bench, she “has noted a clear pattern of disparate charging decisions by the Commonwealth in which white defendants are charged with lesser offenses and given better offers than defendants of color.”

Goodman noted in her ruling that Thomas, a Black man, was charged with a capital offense, while another case pending before her court involves similar circumstances with a 27-year-old white defendant who was known to be intoxicated — he faces a lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter.

She cited statistics from the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy, which show that Black defendants account for nearly 36% of clients despite making up only 15.6% of Lexington’s population, and they’re charged with felonies at a “grossly disproportionate rate.”

It was recommended that Fayette County prosecutors conduct comprehensive research and review programs by a subcommittee of the Fayette County Commission for Racial Justice and Equality, which would report on disparities affecting Black residents, according to Goodman.

“The Court has no information on whether any of these programs have been implemented, and unfortunately, the Commonwealth does not appear to have altered its conduct since those recommendations were made,” she wrote.

Why this case was dismissed

Goodman dismissed Thomas’ case because prosecutors couldn’t establish that Thomas acted “wantonly or intentionally” during the incident, she wrote. Prosecutors said Thomas was under the influence of drugs, which induced psychosis prior to the incident, but no evidence presented over the course of a two-year period could confirm that statement, according to Goodman’s ruling.

An initial drug test for Thomas came back positive for low levels of marijuana, but testimony from law enforcement indicated it was “extremely unlikely to have caused a psychotic break or to have caused any kind of impairment,” according to Goodman’s ruling.

Initially, Dr. Timothy Allen diagnosed Thomas with “probable substance-induced psychosis,” while acknowledging a blood toxicology test showed no alcohol or other drugs.

The Fayette Commonwealth Attorney’s Office is alleged to have performed a second drug test for synthetic drugs, which came back negative. Allen testified under oath he did not know about the second drug panel before publishing his report to the court. Allen said the implication that Thomas’ psychosis was substance-induced was “speculative” as a result.

At that same hearing, prosecutors admitted they had no evidence to support drug intoxication, but would not voluntarily dismiss the murder charge, according to court documents.

“The Commonwealth’s failure to give its own expert, Dr. Allen, all the evidence cannot be overlooked,” Goodman wrote. “...By correcting the report, therefore, the Commonwealth would have had no basis to proceed with the charges. The Commonwealth’s failure to correct the report — which has misled this Court and would have potentially misled the jury — is evidence of prosecutorial misconduct.”

Thomas’ attorney filed a motion asking the case to be dismissed in May 2023. In response, prosecutor Amanda Morgan wrote “under Kentucky law, ‘the issue of whether a defendant is criminally responsible for the offense with which he is charged is a fact for the jury to decide.’”

Jerry Wright, Thomas’ attorney, told the Herald-Leader Monday that he filed the motion to dismiss because Thomas wasn’t responsible for wanton conduct.

“We would not have filed the motion to dismiss if we didn’t think it was appropriate,” Wright said. “We thought based upon the evidence as we knew it, it was an appropriate motion to file. If you look at what he was charged with, you’ll notice there was a requirement for wanton conduct.

“With the facts as they were, we didn’t think that he could be prosecuted because we didn’t think he could be held responsible for wanton conduct because of a mental break brought on by anything he did such as intoxication or drug use. Because of that, we felt like it was appropriate.”