Thomas C. Bowling Appellant v. Commonwealth of Kentucky Appellee

Summary

The court affirmed dismissal of Bowling’s postconviction civil action seeking to vacate his death sentences on the ground of mental retardation. It held that the action could be treated as an independent equitable action despite initial procedural defects, but Bowling waived the claim by failing to raise it when Kentucky’s exemption statute was available and, independently, failed to make a prima facie showing warranting a hearing. The court also upheld Kentucky’s statutory definition, pretrial judicial determination, and allocation of the burden of proof for mental-retardation claims. Justice Keller, dissenting, would have remanded for a hearing because the claim could not be waived and the evidence created a sufficient factual doubt.