Lawyer for Alabama death row inmate disappointed by decision

This undated photo provided by the Alabama Department of Corrections shows death row inmate Bill Kuenzel, sentenced to death for the shooting death of store clerk Linda Jean Offord in 1987. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday Oct. 31, 2016 declined to hear an appeal by the inmate, who claims he is innocent. (AP Photo/Alabama Department of Corrections) This undated photo provided by the Alabama Department of Corrections shows death row inmate Bill Kuenzel, sentenced to death for the shooting death of store clerk Linda Jean Offord in 1987. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday Oct. 31, 2016 declined to hear an appeal by the inmate, who claims he is innocent. (AP Photo/Alabama Department of Corrections)

By Associated Press October 31, 2016 2 min read

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal Monday from an Alabama death row inmate who claimed that evidence withheld by prosecutors entitled him to a new court hearing.

The justices did not comment in turning away the appeal from Bill Kuenzel, convicted of killing a convenience store clerk in the east Alabama city of Sylacauga in 1987.

The state attorney general’s office could now ask the Alabama Supreme Court to set an execution date for Kuenzel, 54.

A prosecutor did not immediately return a message seeking comment. An attorney for Kuenzel, Eric Berman, said the man’s legal team was “obviously disappointed” since Kuenzel’s claims have never had a full review because of a filing deadline that was supposedly missed in the 1990s.

State courts had earlier refused Kuenzel’s pleas for a new hearing.