COLUMBIA — The attorney general's office has requested that Ryan Ferguson's appeal be pushed back again.
Ferguson, who was convicted for the 2001 murder of Columbia Daily Tribune sports editor Kent Heitholt, recently received a boost in his appeal for a new trial when co-defendant Charles Erickson recanted his testimony implicating Ferguson in the crime. Erickson said he acted alone instead, and a recent decision by the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District allowed Erickson's statement to be a part of Ferguson's appeal.
Ferguson's attorney, Kathleen Zellner, said both the defense and Missouri's attorney general's office originally requested extensions to review the court's changes to the case. Following its initial extension, the attorney general's office requested a second extension Thursday, saying its workload was too heavy to prosecute Ferguson's case at the time. Ferguson's attorneys filed a response to the state's request Monday.
Zellner said the state should move forward with the case instead of requesting extensions.
"The state should just face that their case has fallen apart," Zellner said.
If the case stays on its current course, Zellner said she expects a decision by November.