Convicted killer appeals sentence

NEW ALBANY, Ind. -- A former state trooper convicted of killing his wife and two children planned to appeal his 195-year prison sentence, claiming that prosecutors built their case on his character rather than the evidence against him.\nTestimony regarding David Camm's character was so damaging that it made it impossible for jurors to give him a fair trial, said his attorney, Stacy Uliana of Bloomington.\nShe told The Courier-Journal of Louisville that the appeal would be mailed or hand-delivered to the Indiana Court of Appeals before the midnight Wednesday deadline.\nUliana argued that the judge improperly allowed several women to testify about Camm's extramarital affairs with them. She also said the judge should not have allowed prosecutors to argue that Camm had killed his family because his wife found out he had molested his 5-year-old daughter.\nExperts who testified at Camm's trial had disputed whether the child was molested or otherwise injured, she said. Camm was not charged with molesting the child.\nFloyd County Superior Court Judge Richard Striegel denied a motion for a retrial on similar grounds in July 2002.\nFormer Prosecutor Stan Faith, who filed the charges against Camm, acknowledged that the women's testimony likely was the strongest basis for an appeal, though he doubted it would succeed.\nFaith said he used the evidence against Camm's character to establish a motive for the killings.\nJurors found Camm guilty in March 2002 of murder in the Sept. 28, 2000, killings of his wife, Kimberly, 35, and their children, Bradley, 7, and Jill, 5.\nThe three were shot in the garage of the family's home in Georgetown, Ind., about 15 miles west of Louisville, Ky., after returning from a swim practice.