Prosecutors are appealing Judge Jon Kerry Blackwood's ruling that Kenneth Bartley's guilty
plea should be thrown out, and that the teen should go to trial on murder charges.
In 2005, the then 14-year-old Bartley was accused in a shooting at
Campbell County High School that killed Vice Principal Ken Bruce and
injured Principal Gary Seale and Assistant Principal Jim Pierce. Bartley
pleaded guilty the next year.
In June, attorney Greg Isaacs argued
that Bartley was pressured into making the plea on the day the trial was
set to begin.
Bartley's former attorney testified that Bartley's decision to accept the plea took only seconds.
At the June hearing, Judge Blackwood said he was unaware that there had not been further
discussion and time taken with Bartley before the plea was accepted.
The state's Notice of Appeal was filed with the Campbell County Circuit Court Clerk on July 22.
No date has been set for a hearing.