Lawyers' attempt to gain bail for murderer fails

A rare attempt by defense attorneys to get a convicted murderer released on bail pending his appeal was denied Monday.

District Judge Mark Gibbons said that while Kevin Camp, 28, may come from a good and supportive family, the evidence presented in his trial is too strong to warrant releasing him.

Camp was convicted last month and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison Monday in the January 1998 beating death of Lamar Brooks Jr., 2. An autopsy showed the boy died after he was beaten so viciously that a kidney was displaced and his intestines were damaged.

Defense attorneys Dayvid Figler and Alzora Jackson told jurors that the boy's mother, Brook Laine, a methamphetamine user and prostitute, beat the child to death.

On Monday Figler said that for the first time ever, he was asking for one of his clients to be released pending an appeal.

Figler told Gibbons that Camp is different from most defendants in that he has no criminal history, comes from a good family that is willing to support him and is well-liked in general.

The appellate issues in the Camp case are strong, too, Figler said.

The defense attorney told Gibbons he believes the judge erred when he allowed the state to put a medical doctor on the stand during the rebuttal phase of the trial without giving the defense much notice or time afterward to refute her testimony.

In addition, doctors recently discovered Camp has a testicular growth, Figler said. Should he have cancer, it would be best for him to receive treatment outside of prison, he said.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Vicki Monroe pointed out that jurors took only four hours to convict Camp, and there is no evidence the jury convicted on the basis of the one doctor's testimony. Moreover, she said, the state is not required to provide advance notice of rebuttal witnesses.

Monroe said Camp "doesn't deserve any consideration."

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