Paducah Sun Seeks to Keep Hearings Open

The Paducah Sun reports it has filed a petition in Calloway Circuit Court to keep pre-trial hearings open in the arson/manslaughter case against Jerry Wayne Walker, Junior.  Commonwealth's Attorney Mark Blankenship wants to close the hearings to both the media and the public, citing "media attention" to the case as the reason.  Walker is set to appear in his second trial later this year over charges he set the 1998 Murray State dorm fire that killed Michael Minger and injured another student.  Walker's earlier trial in 2001 ended in a hung jury.  Circuit Judge Dennis Foust has not yet ruled on Blankenship's motions.  Attorneys for The Paducah Sun have asked Foust for a hearing on their petition April 23rd or soon afterward.