Man cleared in 1998 fatal dorm fire in court again

The Paducah Middle School principal recently acquitted in a fatal Murray State University dorm fire over a decade ago was back in court last week facing charges of evidence tampering.  Jerry Wayne Walker was cleared in July of arson and manslaughter charges by a Marshall County jury.  WPSD-TV reports the allegations of evidence tampering stem from letters Walker wrote in the days following the 1998 fire, where he accused others of starting it.

Walker's attorney, Richard Null, says the charges amount to selective prosecution.  He says too much time has passed and too much evidence has been lost or destroyed.  However, Commonwealth Attorney Mark Blankenship says he believes in the case.  Judge Dennis Foust says he hopes to make a decision in the next two weeks on whether Walker will go to trial.