{Charleston, West Virginia}...Fifty-one year old Kenneth Carter was sentenced Monday to life in prison after being convicted of fatally beating his roommate Ron Forton and hurting Bradley Dunlap, who were beaten with a baseball bat last July in an apartment on Beuhring Avenue in Charleston because he believed one of the victims was fooling around with his wife. Before Kanawha County Circuit Judge Jim Stucky handed down his sentence, Carter and his attorney attempted to have his May conviction overturned, claiming Carter didn't get a fair trial. One reason was because not all the DNA swabs taken from the murder weapon, which had Carter's DNA on it, were tested by police. Carter told Judge Stucky, if the handle had someone else's DNA on it, that would prove he didn't commit the crime. Carter's attorney also argued the prosecution relied too heavily on a jailhouse snitch and that several of the jurors had served together on a previous trial involving another man who was sentenced to life in prison. Judge Stucky quickly dismissed the motions, saying the court is going to deny the motion for a new trial and also deny the motion for a judgment of acquittal, and Kenneth Eugene Clark will be committed to the custody of the West Virginia Department of Corrections for the rest of his natural life. Stucky also sentenced Carter to a term of 2 to10 years for malicious wounding. That will be served concurrently.
