Paul Courtney, Skaggs’s Vandalia-based attorney, said he argued that the conviction should be overturned because the accident wasn’t caused by Skaggs’s recklessness, but as the result of an epileptic seizure.
“I thought the (appellate) court looked at all the issues we raised,” said Courtney. “I can’t disagree with their conclusions.”
The appellate court affirmed the conviction, ruling that there was “no abuse of discretion on the part of the trial court in instructing the jury on recklessness as it did,” according to court records.
Clark County Prosecutor Stephen Schumaker couldn’t be reached for comment.
Jin “Jack” Bian, 27, Yan “Zoe” Sun and Bing “Jo” Xue, both 24, were killed in March 2007 when Skaggs’ Chevy Tahoe, traveling at 98 m.p.h., slammed into several cars that were stopped at a red light on Urbana and Moorefield roads.
Bian, Sun and Xue were graduate students at Urbana University. All three were Chinese natives.
It took a jury just two hours to convict Skaggs of all charges in August of 2008.
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0360 or vlough@coxohio.com.
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