Letcher County Sheriff Plans on Using Insanity Defense in Murder Trial Accusing Him of Shooting District Judge

Even though video footage seems to depict a cold-blooded murder, the attorney for former Sheriff Shawn `Mickey' Stines argues that there is more to this case than what is apparent.

Stines faces charges for the murder of District Judge Kevin Mullins in his chambers on September 19, 2024. A video recorded inside the judge's chambers captured the incident, indicating that Mullins attempted to hide under his desk as Stines fired multiple shots.

"It's extremely complicated," said Jeremy Bartley, Stines' attorney. He told reporters that the story behind the shooting spans several years and isn't limited to what's shown in the video. In fact, just a few days before the shooting, Stines sat down for a deposition related to a case involving Mullins. 
At the time of his murder, Mullins had been named in a lawsuit alleging that one of Stines' deputies working in the courthouse sexually assaulted a woman in the judge's chambers. Stines was deposed in relation to that lawsuit, although he was not named as a defendant. 
"In the week prior to and the week of the deposition, lots of people noticed that Mickey had become more increasingly paranoid, that he became sleepless, had gone nights without sleep and there was an overwhelming amount of pressure on him," Bartley said. Bartley suggested that others besides Mullins had been threatening Stines, alluding to them as "a number of people who were very interested in the outcome of the civil deposition."

"When I heard of the shooting ... I admit the first thought I had was, `Maybe the litigation I'm involved in had something to do with this,'" Ned Pillersdorf, who represents the plaintiff in the civil suit, told Politan on Monday. While Pillersdorf maintained he didn't recall anything strange being said in the deposition, he did note the sheriff's demeanor as "odd." "It wasn't your typical deposition of a sheriff in a civil rights case. But having said that, I have no idea why his defense attorney keeps saying that my litigation, the litigation me and my co-counsel are involved in, was somehow a motive in all this. But he keeps saying that."

Bartley stated that Stines believed his family was in "imminent danger" during the shooting, though the threat may not have been as dire as perceived. Bartley still argued there was an "objective threat." 
Earlier this month, Bartley filed paperwork for Stines to use an insanity defense at trial. Although Kentucky law doesn't require early disclosure, Bartley did so to schedule Stines for an evaluation, noting the state's 12-18 month waiting list.