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Indiana AG files to keep Jill Behrman's killer in prison during appeal

John Myers II, the man convicted in 2006 of killing IU student Jill Behrman in 2003 is set to be released June 15 while he appeals his conviction.
John Myers II (WTHR file photo)

INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — The Indiana Attorney General's Office has filed a motion to try and keep John Myers II, the man convicted in 2006 of killing IU student Jill Behrman in 2003, in prison while he appeals his conviction.

Last Friday, a U.S. district court judge granted Myers' petition for release during his appeal.

The court granted Myers' petition for writ of habeas corpus and ordered that he be released or retried. Myers argued that his psoriasis medication suppresses his immune system, making him more vulnerable to complications from COVID-19 while in prison.

The judge agreed to place him on home confinement starting June 15. He is permitted to leave home only for medical appointments under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for the Southern District of Indiana. He also has to wear an electronic monitoring device and practice CDC social distancing guidelines.

Myers claims in his appeal that he received ineffective assistance from his attorney in the Behrman murder case. Myers was sentenced to 65 years in prison for Behrman's murder.

The state had 120 days from the date of the ruling last fall to vacate Myers' conviction to decide to retry Myers. According to Sweeney's ruling last Friday, the state did not show that "the State will be irreparably harmed by Mr. Myers's release or that the public interest lies in favor of his continued incarceration pending appeal."

The Indiana Attorney General is now asking the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh District to"vacate the district court’s order" because the district court "acted without authority."

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