Circuit Judge John Atkins told WKDZ Friday morning that Boling will not be in the courtroom until further notice. He said the mutual agreement is between himself, Boling, and Judge Andrew Self. For now, all cases in the courtroom are being handled by Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorneys Stephanie Bolen and Jared Smith.
Also on Friday, more than a dozen protesters lined the sidewalk near the Christian County Justice Center calling for Boling’s resignation.
The controversy came after news media revealed that Boling wrote a letter in support of the pardon or commutation of Dayton Jones’ sentence for his role in a 2014 sexual assault of a 15-year-old male. Jones admitted his role in the assault in 2016 and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, but Bevin commuted the sentence before he left office in December 2019.
WKDZ reported that Boling later said the letter was a ‘monumental mistake,’ and he was writing it to express the thoughts and feelings of Jones' grandparents, not his own.
Boling has been handling the perjury case of former McCracken County Jailer Tonya Ray since McCracken County Judges and prosecutors recused themselves. Her trial is set to begin January 30 in Paducah with Graves County Circuit Judge Tim Stark presiding.
On the Net:
WKDZ story
