Judge dismisses Lexington murder case; accuses prosecutors of misconduct

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - A Lexington murder case has been dismissed. The judge is now accusing the prosecutors of a pattern of misconduct.

It’s been more than three years since Tammy Botkin was killed in a hit-and-run crash here in Lexington. Now, the murder case against the man police say is responsible has been thrown out.

“I used to have dark hair, and I used to have hair. This has just been a mess,” said Tammy’s husband, Doug Botkin.

Tammy Botkin’s husband, Doug, says the case has been put off several times through the years. He calls the dismissal another setback.

“It’s been one thing after another,” said Botkin.

According to police testimony, Cornell Thomas II was driving close to 96 miles per hour in a 45-mile-per-hour speed zone at the time of the crash. They say he tried to run from the scene but was caught. He was charged with murder and leaving the scene of an accident/failure to render aid.

Fayette County Judge Julie Goodman dismissed the case this week, citing quote “serious concerns over the way this case and others have been prosecuted.”

Judge Goodman writes that while Thomas was facing a capital charge, a white defendant in a similar case was only charged with second-degree manslaughter.

She claims, “selective prosecution and unequal enforcement are common within Fayette County,”citing statistics from the Department of Public Advocacy, that while Black or African Americans make up 15.6% of the county’s population, they make up 38.5% of DPA clients and are charged with serious felonies at a “grossly disproportionate rate.”

Additionally, Judge Goodman ruled there is no evidence that Thomas was “sane at the time of the accident,” and the Commonwealth couldn’t prove he acted either intentionally or wantonly.”

The Commonwealth Attorney’s Office says they will be appealing this dismissal.

They did not comment on Judge Goodman’s claims of selective prosecution and unequal enforcement.