Скачать или смотреть Former Springboro cop pleads guilty, maintains innocence

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - 21 years after his wife was murdered in their home, former Springboro police lieutenant Jim Barton entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors that resulted in a guilty plea that allowed him to maintain his innocence.

Barton accepted an Alford plea. It's a little-used plea agreement where a defendant maintains innocence but admits there's enough evidence to convict at trial. Barton has already served more than 11 years in prison for the death of his wife, Vickie. Prosecutors and detectives believed Barton hired a man to stage a burglary at his home to scare his wife into moving but the plan took a more dangerous turn. Barton called 911 to report his wife's murder and sexual assault.

"This agreement came about as a result of conversations that I had with Mr. Barton's counsel really over the past month," said Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell.

Fornshell said there were several reasons he agreed to the Alford plea. He said no one on the prosecution side considers Barton a danger to the public and they do not believe Barton wanted his wife murdered. Fornshell was also concerned about whether Barton would not receive the same sentence of 15 to 50 years if convicted because a recent Ohio Supreme Court changed sentencing laws allowing for more lenient sentences.

"The amount of sentence he would have received would have actually been less than what he had already served and he would have been given credit for time served," Fornshell said. "There's a recognition on the part of the defendant that we had sufficient evidence to likely result in him obtaining a conviction. That's not something that in this particular case that would have ever happened had we gone to trial."

There was also questions about whether testimony would be allowed from a key witness at Barton's first trial. A federal appeals court threw out Barton's conviction when judges ruled the prosecution didn't turn over some evidence pertaining to witness Gary Henson. Henson testified his half-brother, William Phelps, confessed that Barton paid him $3,000 to stage a burglary at their home to scare Vicki into moving.

Henson said Phelps committed suicide four months after the murder and that an accomplice actually raped and murdered Vicki Barton. Jim Barton called 911 to report his wife had been raped and murdered.

Jim Barton declined comment when he left court Thursday afternoon, September 29. He'll likely be on probation for 60 days.

Fornshell said male DNA was found on bite marks on Vicki Barton's body. Tests have been run but the source of the DNA has yet to be identified.