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A judge delayed sentencing for the man found guilty of running over his wife and making it look like a hit-and-run. Sherman Lynch also called for a mistrial.
Lynch told the judge he was not adequately represented by his attorneys during his trial. He says they violated his rights by not providing some material from the discovery, which is the information prosecutors have on the case. He also says there was some information that could prove his innocence, which his attorneys failed to bring up during the trial.
The judge planned to proceed with sentencing today, but a procedural mix-up forced him to postpone the hearing. By law, Lynch has three days before sentencing to review the pre-sentence report, which provides background on the case to the court, but Lynch only received that report this afternoon.
Friends of Patricia Rothermich said they were frustrated. "His counsel was more than adequate, and they were wonderful when they represented him. In fact, we were very upset, as advocates of Pat, we were very upset with what the counsel presented for him. And for him to call them unethical is just, really, words I can't use," Carolyn Sanders said.
Sandi Johnson said, "This is the way the justice system works and, eventually, we will go forward with sentencing and hopefully bring some closure."
In November, a jury convicted Lynch of killing his wife. Prosecutors tied Lynch to the crime after his girlfriend told police Lynch had bought a truck matching the description of the vehicle in the hit-and-run.
Lynch faces 15 years to life in prison. His sentencing will be on Jan. 26, and he will have new attorneys beside him. They will be his third set of attorneys representing him in this case; the other two are no longer his attorneys due to conflicts.
E-mail: syi@ksl.com
