Kanawha County Circuit Court must conduct hearing in Clark murder case after denying motion

CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals says the Kanawha County Circuit Court must conduct an evidentiary hearing after denying a man’s motion to be resentenced in a murder case from 2009.

According to the memorandum decision filed on April 30, Desmond Clark was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole after he chased a woman into a Taco Bell and shot her six times, killing her.

The West Virginia Supreme Court says the county circuit court made a mistake in denying Clark’s motion in 2022 without a hearing to look at allegations that his counsel did not help him in filing a direct appeal.

Once the evidentiary hearing is done, the court will “enter an order setting forth detailed findings of fact and conclusions of law sufficient to permit meaningful appellate review, should the petitioner choose to appeal that order,” the letter says.

It ends with the West Virginia Supreme Court saying if the court finds that Clark did ask his attorney to file an appeal, “the circuit court should resentence the petitioner for purposes of appeal and appoint appellate counsel.”

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