Court rejects appeal of death row inmate

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The state Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by a death row inmate convicted of the 1994 slaying of a helpful motorist on Interstate 70.

Allen Nicklasson, 30, of Kansas City had sought a new trial on claims his attorneys provided ineffective counsel. The Missouri Supreme Court denied his claims in a unanimous decision Tuesday.

Nicklasson was one of three people convicted for the Aug. 24, 1994, execution-style killing of Richard Drummond, who provided a ride to the trio after noticing their broken-down vehicle on the side of the highway. Nicklasson was accused by authorities of being the triggerman.

Dennis Skillicorn, 43, of Kansas City also is on death row after being convicted of first-degree murder in Drummond's death.

Timothy DeGraffenreid of Blue Springs, who was 18 at the time of the murder, received a life prison sentence after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.

He led authorities to Drummond's body in a Lafayette County field.

The state Supreme Court rejected Nicklasson's standard appeal in 1998. In his latest appeal, Nicklasson claimed that his trial attorney should have objected to a prosecutor's closing statement that it "doesn't matter" whether Nicklasson was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the crime.

The Supreme Court said the statement was "inartfully phrased" but true, because Nicklasson's alleged mental defect was just one consideration into whether he had the mental capacity to be held criminally responsible for his action.

The Supreme Court also denied a claim that Nicklasson's attorney was ineffective for not challenging his court-ordered shackling during trial. The judges said Nicklasson had been violent while in custody and added that there was no evidence to suggest the restraint deprived Nicklasson of his presumption of innocence.

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Case is Nicklasson v. State of Missouri, SC84496.

On the Net:

Missouri Judiciary: http://www.osca.state.mo.us