TOPEKA – Once again, former Arizona prison inmate Ralph Corey is seeking to overturn his conviction of kidnapping a Williamsburg teen and trying rape her. Franklin County assistant attorney James Ward will be in Topeka this afternoon defending the conviction before a panel of appeals court judges. Corey is trying to overturn his conviction on technical grounds, Ward said. Corey was sentenced to nearly 34 years in prison for the crime, which occurred 14 years ago after the girl left the Ottawa Wal-Mart Supercenter in Ottawa. The sentencing occurred after he was convicted after his second trial. Corey’s first trial was declared a mistrial after a juror used a smart phone to research information about the case during deliberations. Corey was in an Arizona prison when his DNA was linked to the Ottawa case by a special Kansas Bureau of Investigation cold-case computer program.
Wednesday, Oct. 15, 11 a.m.
