Mississippi inmate wants death sentence thrown out

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A Mississippi death row inmate convicted in the slaying of his estranged wife is asking the state Supreme Court to throw out his guilty plea because a fair jury could not be seated in Union County.

The Mississippi Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case on Tuesday in Jackson.

In 2012, David Neal Cox Sr. was sentenced to death after pleading guilty to shooting and killing his wife Kim at a home in Sherman.

Authorities said the couple was separated at the time of the 2010 incident.

Authorities said Cox shot his wife and then held his son and stepdaughter hostage until deputies forced their way into the home and arrested him.

Cox also pleaded guilty to kidnapping, burglary, shooting into an occupied dwelling, and sexual assault. He was sentenced to 185 years.

The trial court seated a jury to determine Cox's sentence.

Cox, now 44, argues the sentencing should have been moved because of what he called "sensational' news coverage of the case. He says the news coverage was heighted because Kim Kirk Cox came from a well-known family of present and former law enforcement officers.

Cox also argued the jury pool was small and many potential jurors who were seated said they knew the Kirk family - including one juror who had worked for a Kirk.

"The close connection the venire members had with the Kirks runs counter to the high level of scrutiny necessary in determining that jurors are indifferent and impartial. On the contrary, selecting jurors from such a venire pool stacked the odds against Cox and in the process denied him his right to a fair trial," wrote Cox's attorney, Alison Steiner with the Office of the State Public Defender.

Special Assistant Attorney General Cameron L. Benton said in briefs that the defense didn't provide enough evidence to support its motion to move the sentencing hearing. He said the defense's one witness and a number of newspaper articles were insufficient for a change of venue.

Benton said the alleged prominence of the Kirk family also was not a factor. He said while some prospective jurors knew of the family, others did not. He said Cox was "exaggerating the extent of familiarity between prospective jurors and the Kirk family."