Attorneys make final appeal for convicted killer of deputy Donald Bond

Defense attorneys Paul Bruno, center, and Luke Evans, right, converse in this file photo while appearing before Judge Don Poole during the case of Marlon Duane Kiser, left.
Defense attorneys Paul Bruno, center, and Luke Evans, right, converse in this file photo while appearing before Judge Don Poole during the case of Marlon Duane Kiser, left.

It's been nearly 13 years since Marlon Kiser was sentenced to death for the murder of Hamilton County sheriff's deputy Donald Bond. His appeal process has stretched on for more than a decade, and Monday marked his last chance to present evidence he hopes will overturn his conviction.

"Exonerate me or kill me," Kiser told Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Don Poole.

In fact, Kiser's post-conviction petition for relief doesn't exactly ask Poole to exonerate him. It lists examples of what Kiser and his attorneys call ineffective assistance of counsel. Essentially, they are asking Poole to rule that Kiser's public defenders didn't adequately represent him and that their inadequacies would have changed the outcome of his trial.

On Monday, a former juror said that's exactly what happened.

photo Marlon Duane Kiser appears before Judge Don Poole in August 2014 as he appeals a death penalty sentence from 2003 in the murder of a Hamilton County deputy sheriff.

Deborah Slate said she never heard the testimony of Mack Heard, a man who worked undercover with law enforcement and said at an August hearing that he believed Kiser's roommate, Mike Chattin, was responsible for Bond's death. Chattin is now dead.

Slate said that if she'd heard Heard testify, she never would have convicted Kiser.

District Attorney General Neal Pinkston objected to her testimony, saying it was unfair to ask a juror to predict how the outcome of a case might have differed given evidence that was never introduced.

But Slate's testimony Monday goes to the heart of Kiser's attorneys' argument: that his public defenders failed to dig up or pursue evidence that would have proven Kiser was framed by Chattin.

During three previous hearings on the petition, multiple witnesses testified they believed Chattin was guilty and that he threatened them into silence. Chattin's wife was having an affair with Bond, they said, and he killed Bond out of jealousy.

Chattin's former girlfriend testified Monday that she once accused Chattin of the crime, and that he responded by neither denying nor confirming his guilt.

Also filed Monday was a signed statement from Roberta Pardue, a former girlfriend of Chattin's who said he told her he killed Bond. Pardue didn't respond to a subpoena and wasn't present to testify.

But Pinkston said the hearings presented "no new evidence" and that he was confident he didn't need to counter any of it in court. He called the evidence put on by Kiser's attorneys "unbelievable."

Kiser's attorneys will have several months to compile a written summary of their arguments, which Pinkston will be able to respond to before Poole makes his final ruling.

Contact staff writer Claire Wiseman at cwiseman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow her on Twitter @clairelwiseman.

Read more

* Convicted killer's fourth hearing set for today* Convicted Hamilton County cop killer breaks 14-year silence* Allegation of affair between judge, victim-witness coordinator dominates Kiser hearing* Witness says she lied at trial of man convicted of killing Hamilton County deputy* Attorneys say convicted killer of Hamilton County deputy was set up* Chattanooga: Judge rules Kiser can hire new attorney for death penalty appeal* Death row inmate wants evidence review

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