Judge allows Null to hire expert witness for resentencing 

A judge will allow a 20-year-old Cedar Rapids man convicted as a juvenile in a fatal shooting and robbery to hire an expert witness to testify at his re-sentencing.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Ian Thornhill approved $10,000 — which will be paid by the state — for the expert who will testify at Denem Null's resentencing Feb. 27 in Linn County District Court. Mark Myers, attorney for Null, told the court he wanted to hire a sentencing mitigation expert to testify about any circumstances, conditions or other factors that should be considered because of Null's age.

The judge will have the discretion in sentencing Null, and the expert can provide information that the judge wouldn't have about Null's background. The Iowa Supreme Court upheld Null's conviction for killing Kevin Bell, 26, during a drug robbery in 2010, but the court tossed out his 75-year prison sentence because he was 16 years old at the time. The court ruled that the sentence violated the cruel and unusual punishment provision in the Eighth Amendment and Iowa Constitution. Null pleaded to second-degree murder and first-degree robbery. He was sentenced to a 50-year prison term for murder to run consecutively to a 25-year term for robbery.

Under that sentencing, he would have to serve 52 years before being eligible for parole. Null's resentencing is one of the first rulings the Iowa court made regarding the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court's Miller decision, which found mandatory life sentences without parole for juveniles unconstitutional. The Miller ruling directs judges to consider each juvenile's home life and background, and that 'juveniles are more capable of change than adults' and lengthy sentences for juveniles without parole should be in rare or uncommon cases.

Thornhill said his only concern was that there was a previous request from the defense to hire an investigator and expert witness, and then the request was withdrawn. There has been several continuances and he didn't want there to be further delays. Assistant Linn County Attorney Jason Burns had similar concerns. He said he never saw any information from a previous expert's opinion. Myers said the other witness wasn't appropriate for this case and this would be the last request for an expert. He also didn't anticipate any further delays.

The expert he plans to hire said the February sentencing date should give her sufficient time to prepare for her testimony.