Myers' request for new trial denied

Morgan Superior Court Judge Christopher Burnham denied an appeal for the conviction of John Myers II, the man a jury found guilty of murdering IU sophomore Jill Behrman in May 2000.\nThe appeal, filed in December 2006, was the first one submitted since Myers was convicted Oct. 30, 2006, for killing Behrman. Since the verdict and Myers' sentencing to 65 years in prison, the defense has complained of juror misbehavior during the trial.\nThe appeal specifically charged jurors with excessive alcohol use and outside communications during the trial.\nBurnham denied both of the allegations in the report.\n"There is absolutely no evidence that the jurors were unfocused, sleepy, impaired, inattentive, or otherwise distracted during the court session," the judge wrote in his report.\n"The jurors' lives from October 15 to October 30, 2006, were totally immersed in this trial," he said.\nIn the 24-page "Ruling on Motion to Correct Error," the judge said he found insufficient evidence on all counts of juror misconduct to warrant a new trial. In addition, Myers filed a request for a new trial based on evidence surfacing after the trial. This request was also denied in the ruling because Burnham found that none of the new evidence satisfied all nine of the criteria that require a new trial.\n"There are so many levels on why I think this is wrong," said Jodie Myers, John Myers II's mother.\nBut she said she was not surprised by the decision because it was in-line with what she called the trial's other injustices.\nEric Behrman, the father of Jill Behrman, said he was also not surprised by the ruling. But for him, this was a matter of reaffirming the justice has already been served, he said.\n"It's like there is always someone else to be blamed," he said, referring to Jodie Myers' most recent request for a new trial. "At least from her reaction, nothing was the fault of John."\nSurely, Behrman said, this was indeed not the end of the road for the trial and the Myers defense team. He said he believed Myers' counsel would continue to appeal the process.\nJodie Myers said the defense hopes to have file another appeal within the next month that would outline more new evidence that she believes could prove her son's innocence. The new evidence involves a witness who was not previously considered, she said. She would not elaborate further while Myers' council continues to review evidence.\nPatrick Baker will continue to serve as Myers' attorney only until a public defender is assigned to the case. Jodie Myers announced last week the defense will sever ties with Baker as soon as a public defender is appointed.